Broken Wings
by GuidexYouxHome
Summary: When Angel's life is threatened by a foreign agency and a mysterious prophecy, Max and the Flock are forced to turn to the CIA--and Agent Sydney Bristow--for help. Contains Fax, among other pairings!
1. The Message

**Title:** Broken Wings  
**Rating:** PG-13ish. Violence, language, you know.  
**Fandom:** Maximum Ride/Alias crossover.  
**Pairings:** Fax of course, as well as Sydney x Vaughn, and a bit of Iggy x OC.  
**Chapter Summary:** Max and the Flock recieve a mysterious phone call. They're promised answers...and given warnings.  
**Notes:** Uhm. Well, I haven't read the newest Maximum Ride book yet, and I haven't seen Alias in forever, so sorry if a few things are off here and there. But this story is totally going to be very, very AU anyways. Oh, and Maximum Ride belongs to James Patterson! And Alias belongs to JJ Abrams, ABC, and all that. Here we go..

--

"ICE CREAM!"

I was almost knocked over as Gazzy charged ahead of me, target in sight: the bright blue ice cream truck parked on the nearby street. The ice cream man was looking kind of freaked out by the ravenous eight-year-old running at him, but business was business.

Of course, if our wings hadn't been carefully hidden by our baggy sweatshirts, I'm betting he would have been even _more_ freaked out.

This was the only way we could go out in public. Even in a city as crazy as Los Angeles, mutant bird kids weren't exactly the norm. But I had to admit, the Flock needed some fresh air. We'd been staying in an abandoned building a few blocks away. Not my first choice of housing, but so far it had proved to be safe.

But all of us were getting restless, and it felt great to be out in the sun again. I probably would have been a little more uptight about it, except that, that's why we were here: to see the city. Nudge loved L.A., and while we were flying over it a couple of days ago, she somehow convinced me to stop. It was only supposed to be for the day, but the rest of the Flock were really enjoying themselves, and you know what? We all needed a break.

It felt weird to actually be able to _take_ one, though. We've been on the run for so long, and now...well, nothing. For months, we haven't seen even one psychotic mutant or robot--the ones that, you know, try to kill us every so often? Yeah, they're gone. And the voices in my head, or the crazy scientists that keep trying to take over the world? They're gone too. The only fighting that's been going on around here are Nudge and Gazzy's little squabbles over who's the better flyer.

It was making me really nervous. Something just wasn't right.

But the Flock, besides Fang, didn't seem to notice anything. Right now, Angel was tugging on my hand. I only just realized that she was trying to get my attention, and snapped out of my trance.

"Max," She said eagerly, "Can we walk through the park?"

I looked out over the park across the street as Gazzy came hurrying back with a ridiculously tall ice cream cone. It didn't seem like a bad idea, actually. I looked around at the others, who didn't voice any objections, and then I smiled down at Angel.

"Sure, sweetie. Let's go."

We ended up spending the majority of the day there. The sun was setting now, and the park was beginning to clear out. It was actually kind of peaceful when it was quiet like this. It felt safe.

"You know, this isn't so bad. I wouldn't mind spending the night out here." Iggy commented from his perch in the lower branches of a tree.

Nudge looked up at him and nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Under the stars and everything. That'd be cool. Like camping!" She agreed.

We come to Los Angeles, and they want to go camping? I sighed. Sleeping out here didn't seem like such a good idea. It felt...I dunno...exposed? But seeing as there hadn't been any incidents in what felt like forever, I guess we were getting cocky. Taking risks that we shouldn't have been taking. I frowned.

As if he could sense what I was thinking, Fang sat down next to me. For the majority of the day, he'd been quiet as usual, but now it seemed like he wanted to say something to me.

"It's weird, you know?" He spoke at last. "This...quiet."

I stirred, looking over at him. "You feel it too?" I asked, knowing that I shouldn't have been surprised. Fang picked up on these things all the time, sometimes quicker than I did. "It's just," I added quickly, "I didn't want to say anything. The kids were having fun. I didn't want to ruin it for them."

Fang was one of those rare people I could confide in. I guess it's because he understood me--probably better than anyone else I knew. Even now, he was nodding as if he knew exactly where I was coming from.

"Definitely weird." He repeated quietly.

We sat like that for awhile. Just...together. Fang had this way of comforting me just by being there next to me. I mean, I've never actually _said_ that to him(God forbid), but I think he knew anyway.

Then, suddenly, a noise made us all jump. I looked around, confused. That was one of the last noises I'd expected to hear...in fact, I couldn't remember the last time I'd heard...

_Brrring, brrring!_

"Pay phone." Iggy announced instantly.

Sure enough, there was a pay phone right over by the path near where we were sitting. We all stared at it blankly. There was just something that felt really off about that phone.

I tried to block the ringing out of my ears. "Probably I wrong number." I assured the Flock over the noise. Eventually, the phone stopped ringing. There was a moment of silence. Then,

_Brrring, brrring!_

"Max?" asked Gazzy warily.

"Don't answer it." said Fang at once, before I could do anything. "If someone knows we're here..."

"It could be important." Iggy pointed out.

"Or it could be a trap."

"Fang, if someone needs to reach us, I mean...they could need our help."

I was barely listening to their argument. My attention was fixed on the phone. There was something about this call, I could feel it. My instincts were usually right about this kind of thing, but the problem was, I couldn't tell whether this particular feeling was good or bad.

The phone stopped ringing again. There. It didn't matter.

But before I knew it, it was ringing _again_. I stood up, my eyes narrowed.

"Max!" Fang growled immediately, rising beside me.

"I won't say anything." I assured him impatiently. "Not until I know who it is." I couldn't explain what drew me to the phone, but it was almost as if I couldn't control my actions. Slowly, I walked over and picked it up. I listened silently. And then, came a voice that nearly made my heart stop.

"Maximum Ride."

It wasn't a question. They _knew_ who answered the phone. The voice was gravelly, but distinctly female. And she had some kind of accent...Russian, maybe?

I was too shocked to do anything but reply. "How do you know my--?"

"We know your whole Flock, Maximum Ride. There's no need for any sort of pretense here." The voice said coolly.

I was quickly recovering, and within seconds, I was on defense. "Yeah?" I replied steadily, "Then who are you?"

There was a pause. "I, directly, am not important. I work for a group called K-Directorate. We have been watching you for some time."

"Watching us?" I bristled immediately, and glanced back at the others.

"Keeping you safe." The voice assured. "As you've noticed, I'm sure, you haven't been attacked in some time."

Yeah, she had me there. But I wasn't going to let my guard down even for a second. "So, what. You're with the government?" I asked her suspiciously. We'd done enough work with the government to last us a lifetime. I was beginning to wonder what they wanted now, but the voice let out an annoying chuckle.

"The government? We aren't interested in enlisting you to 'save the world', if that's what you're asking. No, my people have been interested in _you_ for quite some time. We have the answers you're looking for. The truth about where you all come from, and the extent of your abilities."

I rolled my eyes. I definitely wasn't buying this. "Yeah, I've heard that one before. Listen. If you're so interested in us, why wait until now to contact me?" I demanded.

The voice was immediate. "Because until now, we have had no reason to. But now...the little one. Angel?...She is in danger."

I almost dropped the phone. Slowly, I looked over at the tree where Angel was sitting. I hoped my expression was unreadable.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my throat dry.

"There's something wrong with her. It could spread to the rest of you if something is not done." The voice explained. "It is too dangerous to discuss over the phone. Even now, we are being traced. My people will be at the top of the Hampshire Building at nine o'clock tonight. The roof--there is a party going on there, but the roof will be safe. If you come--all of you--you are obligated to do nothing but hear me out. Consider."

And just like that, she hung up. I felt frozen to the spot. After a moment, I hung the phone back up, and forced myself to move.

"What was that all about?" asked Nudge when I returned.

I was useless. I just stood there, unable to take my eyes off of Angel.

"Max?" Fang called gently. "What happened?"

I glanced at him. Taking a deep breath, I relayed the conversation to the rest of the Flock. By the time I was done, they were staring at me with just as much shock as I was feeling. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel even looked scared.

"So," Iggy said at last. "It's a trap. Right?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know." I sighed, "We believe her, and we're taking the biggest risk of our lives. But if we don't?"

"It's Angel's life on the line." Fang finished at once. "Look, Max. We need to think about this. I don't trust this any more than you do, but we have a chance to find out exactly what they're talking about."

I stared at him, surprised. Out of everyone, I figured that Fang would be the least likely to go alone with this. He always manages to surprise me.

Angel stepped forward. "But I don't _feel_ sick, Max." She told me, her eyes wide. "How would they know about me?"

"They knew about all of us." I said grimly.

"We need to find out who these people are, and what they know." Fang stood firm. "Worst case scenario, they pull out guns, and we fly out of there. It's a rooftop."

Iggy seemed to be thinking this over. "They know about our wings, obviously." He said. "But what could they try in a building full of people? If there's a sponsored party going on..."

I nodded slowly. "We need to know exactly who we're dealing with, here. Friends or foes. If we don't go, they'll probably just keep tracking us." I pointed out. There was still something holding me back, though. This didn't make sense.

"Max," Angel repeated softly. "I want to go."

Silence.

"This is probably the stupidest thing we've ever done." I muttered at last.

Gazzy grinned. "Oh, not even close!"

Okay then. Party time.


	2. The Mission

**Title:** Broken Wings  
**Rating:** PG-13ish. Violence, language, you know.  
**Fandom:** Maximum Ride / Alias crossover.  
**Pairings:** Fang x Max, A little bit of Iggy x Original Character, and Sydney x Vaughn.  
**Chapter Summary:** Agent Sydney Bristow is assigned to a mission involving the Flock--and she has a feeling she's in over her head.  
**Notes:** Sorry if this chapter seems kinda rushed and confusing. I fully intend to clean up after myself in the chapters to come xP.

**Sydney POV**

"Left!"

I spun to my left, only to be dealt a painful kick to my ribs from my right.

"Oops, sorry Syd." Marshall's voice chuckled through the communicator in my ear. "My left."

I rolled my eyes. Ever since Marshall had gotten his hands on his new satellite camera toy, he seemed to have taken it upon himself to try and fight my battles for me. The man who'd attacked me aimed another kick, but this time I caught it and hauled him onto the ground. There was a hard _thunk_ as his head connected with one of the pipes.

"Yeah baby! He's out!" Marshall sounded unusually giddy. I had to wonder if he'd been drinking too much coffee again. "Get him one more time! You know, for kicks. Heh. Pun intended."

"Thanks for the help, Marshall." I told him sarcastically. I checked my bag to make sure the files I'd been sent to retrieve were secure, and then looked up and down the empty alley. "Where do I go from here?"

"Uh, well, they actually have cameras—can you believe it—_cameras_ near the front end of that alley, and the entrance to the building. Which is kind of a bummer, but it makes things…you know, fun." Marshall rambled. "But in the back of the building is the parking lot. Vaughn is waiting to pick you up there."

I nodded. "Copy." It wouldn't be hard to get into the back lot; I could see it from where I was. The only obstacle in my way was the tall chain-link fence that barred the back end of the alley. I sighed, then spoke into my communicator again.

"Vaughn?"

"Sydney?"

"Looks like I'm gonna have to jump the fence. I'll be out in a minute." I murmured, glancing back over my shoulder at the dark alleyway. It didn't feel right. After I'd taken out the last guy, the reinforcements seemed to have just…given up. I knew these guys. They did _not_ give up.

I could picture Vaughn grinning. "I don't think I've jumped a fence since the eighth grade." He remarked, amused.

I smiled. "Somehow I find that hard to believe."

"Well, I'm sure you're delinquent enough for the both of us. I'm parked to your far right."

I looked in that direction, and saw a pair of headlights flicker on. Hoisting the bag up over my shoulder, I began to climb. It felt kind of bad-ass, actually. You'd think that something like jumping an eight foot fence would seem pretty tame to a CIA field agent, but I sort of felt like a school kid again.

It was short lived. Marshall came back online a second later. "Uh, Syd? Aw crap. You're not alone." He squeaked.

I didn't have time to react. There was a loud _bang_, and I felt something zip past my head. Someone was shooting at me from the other side of the fence! Gritting my teeth, I squinted to see six or seven armed men emerging from the shadows of the parking lot. They'd been waiting for me.

"It's a trap! Vaughn, we've got to get out of here!" I gasped. I was all but hanging from the top of the fence now. I felt like a sitting duck.

Vaughn answered almost immediately. "Hold on! I'm—"

_Bang!_

I swore loudly as I almost lost my grip on the fence. The bullet had grazed my arm. The unpleasant sensation of warm blood trickling down my arm accompanied a hot pain, but my attention was directed at the sound of footsteps hurrying behind me. There was no going back now. I managed to scramble over the top of the fence, but then another gunshot sounded, and I lost my balance. I fell ungracefully into the parking lot—right on the arm that had just been injured.

Ouch…

I let out a half-strangled cry, clutching my arm tightly while trying to get up at the same time. There was no time to lose here. I glanced behind me. The guys on the other side of the fence didn't seem to be armed, but whoever was here in the parking lot with me definitely was.

And then, as if on cue: "Freeze!"

Four goons had their weapons pointed right at me. I slowly raised my hands up over my head. "Vaughn…"

The guy who seemed to be in charge of their little ambush stepped forward. "Drop the bag." He commanded, his English sounding slightly broken.

I couldn't do that. "_Vaughn_." I hissed again.

There was a click, and then his finger was on the trigger. I closed my eyes.

"Sydney!"

A car came hurtling out of nowhere, tires screeching. The men scattered immediately in a wild struggle to get out of the way. My only chance. I lunged forward, opened the car door, and jumped into the passenger's seat.

Immediately, Vaughn stepped on the gas. Loud bangs still cracked behind us as the men shot at our car. We weren't out of the woods yet. I made sure to keep my head low as we cleared the lot, and sped out into the street.

"You okay?" Vaughn glanced over to see me clutching my arm.

"Thanks to you." I shifted to better hide my injury, and picked up the bag I'd just retrieved. "I got it."

Vaughn smiled at me. "Not bad."

"I just hope this thing's worth it."

"With the amount of security they put around it? It's likely." He assured.

I didn't say anything. The fact was, half the artifacts we'd been sent to retrieve ended up as dead ends. It got frustrating sometimes.

"Did they tell you anything about it?" Vaughn asked, his expression unreadable.

I shrugged slightly. "Just that they were papers from one of Rambaldi's notebooks. Papers that detailed something…dangerous." I felt a familiar twinge of frustration at once again being kept in the dark, whether intentionally or not.

I guess he picked up on my tone, because he smirked slightly. "What else is new?"

The rest of the drive back to headquarters was pretty uneventful. We turned the papers in, and I got my arm bandaged, before being called in to a meeting.

"Good work, you two." Dixon told us as Vaughn and I entered the room and sat down. "We've looked over the papers. They're legit."

"What exactly _are_ they?" asked Vaughn, his eyebrows raised.

Dixon paused. He seemed to be deciding the best way to tell us something. "For some time, the CIA has suspected that Rambaldi had been working on something that branched off entirely from anything else he had ever worked on." He began, and then his gaze shifted to Marshall.

Marshall rose to the occasion immediately. "Genetics." He blurted out. "Genetic experimentation. Which is _incredible_, because in Rambaldi's time period—well, they didn't even know genetics existed."

He was all but bursting from excitement. I frowned slightly. "What kind of genetic experimentation?" I prompted.

"Well, stuff that would have been impossible back then, and highly unethical now. " Marshall recited. "I guess Rambaldi kind of realized that, because he stopped all of his research very suddenly, and hid it away. Hardly anyone else ever knew about it. It's kind of like when you find an old diary, and you're mortified because you had a crush on Lucy Fraiser, so you…burn it…" Marshall coughed, and trailed off.

I glanced at Vaughn, holding back a grin.

"But Rambaldi never destroyed his research." Dixon chimed in seriously. "We have reason to believe that several years back, an organization known as 'The School' got their hands on it. With modern-day technology, they could have very well conducted experimentations based on it."

"And we think they have?" I asked incredulously.

Dixon looked grim. "We're almost certain of it."

I frowned as I thought this over. Something wasn't making sense. "But then…what was Anna doing with these papers?" Anna Espinosa, former agent of K-Directorate, was no pretty picture. If I were cliché enough to label someone as my 'arch enemy', she'd probably be at the top of my list. I looked over at Dixon, brow furrowed. "We think she's trying to recreate Rambaldi's research?"

He sighed, and I realized how tired he looked. We'd all been through a lot lately, and now it seemed like we were plunging head-first into something completely new. "She doesn't need to." Dixon said at last. "Somehow, Anna found out about the experimentation already being done by the School. These papers probably gave her a lead."

"So, she's just looking for a step up." Vaughn concluded. "She wants most of the work done for her, so she's looking use what the School has already accomplished."

"It would save her a lot of time—time that she probably doesn't have." Agreed Dixon. "If someone like Anna Espinosa is that interested in that kind of research, _especially_ research rooted back to Rambaldi's original notes…well, it can't mean anything good for the rest of us."

I was still piecing this all together, but I wanted to verify. "So, you want me to stop her. How?"

"You'll be going undercover at an event taking place at the L.A. Hampshire building tonight."

"When you say event, you mean…"

"Party. It's not as fancy as it sounds. The building's owner has a daughter, who's turning eighteen this week. As you can imagine, it may get pretty wild. You won't be too dressed up." Dixon explained.

I had to smile. "God forbid." When Dixon said something like 'You won't be too dressed up', it usually meant something along the lines of 'We're gonna put you in some hooker get-up'. "So what am I supposed to do there?"

"You'll be intercepting Anna. You'll have to go in alone, but we'll have a back-up team on hand if necessary. We have a lead that Anna has made plans to collect the research on the building's roof."

"Collect the research?" I hesitated. "From who?"

Now I knew there was something I was missing. Dixon and Marshall exchanged a glance, and then Marshall let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, when we say 'research', we don't mean, like. Papers." He coughed, and then looked at Dixon.

"Several years ago, some of the subjects from the School's lab escaped." Dixon began warily.

I tensed. "Dixon?" I asked, "What exactly am I looking for, here?"

There was a pause. I looked from Vaughn, who looked suspicious, to Marshall, who looked nervous. And Dixon…Dixon's expression was still dark. It worried me. He didn't say anything, but instead slowly drew out the papers from the back desk. Silently, he handed them to me.

I looked down at the ancient objects, and could barely believe my eyes.

"Oh my god…"

There, centered among Rambaldi's various codes and equations, was a detailed and disturbingly life-like drawing of a human child.

A human child with _wings_.


	3. The Prophecy

**Title:** Broken Wings.  
**Rating:** PG-13ish. Violence, language, you know.  
**Fandom:** Maximum Ride / Alias.  
**Pairings:** Fang x Max, A little bit of Iggy x Ella (yup, changed it) and Sydney x Vaughn.  
**Chapter Summary:** The Flock meet with their mysterious informer, and everything goes to hell.  
**Notes:** Hmm...things are about to get messy xD. It felt weird writing this chapter for some reason. Okay, I really don't have anything to say here, so...-awkward silence- Still don't own anything.

**Chapter Three**

It was too late for second-guessing. We were practically right next to the Hampshire building, only I'd found us a shadowy place to hide while I went over the plan one last time.

"Gazzy, concentrate." I snapped. The Gasman grinned innocently, and reluctantly stopped attempting to inconspicuously push Iggy into a nearby dumpster.

"Okay, here's the deal," I called everyone's attention. "I'm not going to put everyone at risk by sending us all in there."

"That, and it might look just a _little_ bit strange seeing a six year old and an eight year old at a thing like this." Iggy pointed out smugly.

I wasn't really in the mood. "Right." I said shortly. "Iggy, you'll take Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel, and fly up over the roof."

Iggy raised his eyebrows. "Me? Why?"

"You said it yourself, Iggy," Fang told him with a cool smile. "It'll look weird seeing kids in there."

"Someone has to keep them safe." I tilted my head in the younger kids' direction.

"But Max," It didn't take Nudge long to protest either. "I wanna go to the party. What if we miss out?"

I tried to smile at her. We didn't have a lot of time here, but I could tell from Gazzy and Angel's expressions that they weren't too happy about this either. "You won't miss out. Fang and I are only going in there to throw them off. They'll be expecting us to come flying in…"

"And we're just being careful." Fang nodded thoughtfully. "Do we know _why_ these people want to meet us on this particular roof? I mean, out of any other place in the city, some girl's birthday party?"

I had gone over this several times in my head. "They're probably trying to gain our trust." I reasoned. "The more crowded a place, the less likely an ambush is. But that doesn't mean we aren't going to be careful." I turned to Iggy and the others. "Stay in the air. Circle above until you see us come up. If everything's okay, then you can land." I instructed.

Iggy nodded.

Angel smiled up at me. "Don't worry Max. We'll be okay." She told me cheerfully. I had to smile at how cute she was. See, aside from being a fellow winged mutant kid, Angel can read minds. And I was on edge—she probably picked up on that.

"At the first sign of trouble, we bail." I finished. The Flock agreed, and we went our separate ways. I really didn't like splitting up, but in this situation, it seemed like the smartest thing to do.

Fang and I headed around the corner, and through the front door of the Hampshire building. I didn't really know what to expect. This might shock you, but when you have wings, you don't really go to many parties.

We got inside without a problem. There was a grouchy looking guy at the door, but I guess he'd seen worse riffraff than a couple of kids in baggy sweatshirts.

A second later, I _knew_ he'd seen worse. This was not a classy black-tie affair. I don't think I've ever seen anything further from a black-tie affair, actually. This was living proof that normal, wingless people could still appear completely _insane_.

Wild hairstyles and heavy metal music were two of the many, many things in this room that just didn't fit with the ritzy interior of the building.

_This_ was a teenage birthday party. I was kind of glad I'd been missing out.

Fang was less than amused. "Let's get this over with." He growled, pushing through the crowd that had assembled near the entrance.

I looked around, and spotted a door at the far end of the room. "We're taking the stairs." I said quickly. Fang didn't object. Seeing as we'd been raised in dog cages, tight spaces weren't really our thing. We weren't big elevator fans.

We shoved our way through the room. Most people were too busy dancing all over each other to notice us. A gigantic birthday cake was being pulled out from a back room. For once, we slipped under the radar.

We finally reached the door to the stairs. I swear, we were _this_ close, and I was beginning to think that this was going to be too easy.

I reached out for the door handle, but another hand got to it first. You need more proof that I was way too on edge? I practically went into defensive kick-butt mode, grabbing Fang's arm and feeling my wings tense underneath the sweatshirt.

The hand belonged to a girl a couple inches taller than I was, though not as tall as Fang. I sized her up instinctively. She had the most obnoxious shade of bubblegum-pink hair, pulled into pigtails, and she was wearing a black tank top with ripped jeans, along with a ridiculous amount of make-up. But she didn't seem too interested in us. I watched warily as she stumbled forward drunkenly, opened the door, and peered inside.

"Oops." Bubblegum slur-giggled, closing the door again and almost falling backwards as she turned to Fang and me. "That's not the bathroom. Take my advice—stay away from the punch."

"Duly noted." I said dryly. Beside me, Fang was looking so mortified at the sight of this girl's hair that it was almost funny.

We waited for her to move, but she continued to gawk at us curiously. "Do I know you?"

Fang still refused to open his mouth, so I said, "Doubt it. We're not from around here."

"Oh?" Bubblegum twirled one of her pigtails. Was this girl going to get out of the way, or what?

"Look, we're _trying_ to find some place quiet, so—" The words were already half-way out before I realized how stupid I sounded. Fang smirked.

Bubblegum's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Her grin returned. "You two are dating."

Either she was really drunk, or there was something seriously off with this girl. Either way, she'd been holding us up for way too long. "Uh, no." I told her shortly, realizing at the exact same moment that I was still clutching Fang's arm. I wrenched myself away, and pushed past Bubblegum and through the door without another word.

"Smooth." Fang commented once we were headed up the stairs.

"Oh, shut up." I huffed.

The building had nine or ten stories, so it was a long way up. When we finally made it, we stopped to take off our oversized sweatshirts. Our regular shirts had holes cut in for our wings, and after that conversation on the phone, I was guessing these people already knew about our…uh…differences. No reason to hide anymore.

"Ready?" I asked Fang.

"Let's do this." He replied, leading the way towards the door. When he opened it, I felt a rush of cool night air against my face. Stepping out onto the roof, I stretched my wings to their full span. Somehow, it felt safer up here than down in the party. Then again, we had no idea who or what we were about to find up here.

So far, everything was quiet. I couldn't see anyone else on the roof, but I knew the rest of the Flock were circling safely overhead. I looked around.

"What a view." Fang murmured. I had to agree with him. The whole city was lit up at night. I was just thinking how great it would feel to fly over a view like this, when the sound of footsteps echoed across the rooftop.

Out of nowhere, three figures were walking briskly across the roof toward us. I raised an eyebrow. Three people weren't exactly a threat, but if they thought they could win us over just by abiding the fire code, they were dead wrong.

Two of them were tall, balky men dressed in black—I could tell they were trying to look important. The third between them was a woman who looked like she could have been from Central or South America, but when she spoke, it was in a Russian accent I recognized immediately.

"I am glad to see you have come."

It was her. The woman I'd spoken to on the phone. I glanced pointedly at Fang to clue him in, and he gave me the slightest of nods.

She tilted her head. "Where is the rest of your Flock?"

"They'll be here." I said steadily. "As soon as you tell us who you are."

The lady smirked. "Very clever." She drawled. "I am Anna Espinosa, and these are my associates." She didn't introduce them by name.

I frowned. "Okay. So how do you and your _associates_ know so much about us?"

"Ah. Your friends should be present to hear that explanation, I think."

I stared her down, but she didn't blink. I turned to Fang. He was keeping his expression carefully neutral, but I could tell that he was tense. I sighed, and looked up at the sky.

Sure enough, the rest of the Flock were quick to come swooping down, Iggy in the lead. They all landed gracefully behind Fang and me, staring suspiciously. Anna peered at them with keen interest.

"No one else is here, Max." Iggy reported quietly.

Angel nodded. "We watched this building the whole time. The only people we saw were those three." She stared at Anna, and I knew what she was trying to do. See, Angel can read minds. It's a little freaky sometimes.

Anna listened patiently to all of this. "Do you trust me now?" She asked, amused.

Yeah right. "No one's going to trust you until you explain yourself." I told her flatly.

Iggy stepped forward. "You said your company's name is K-Directorate?" He asked. "I've never even heard of them."

"Well, you wouldn't have. We're very top secret, and we do not reside in America." Anna answered smoothly. "It is you who brought us to the States. Several years ago, a team of ours infiltrated one of our known enemies—I believe you know them as the School."

I stiffened immediately.

"We found all of their information on you, and we discovered what the true intentions of your creation were." She continued.

This didn't sound good. At all. "True intentions?" I repeated blankly.

Anna took a deep breath. "Whatever you think you know about them…it is only a cover. You are part of a prophecy that is hundreds of years old. The School intended to use you to complete that prophecy"

"Hold on." This was getting a little crazy. I was beginning to get the feeling that K-Directorate was one of those psycho cult groups. "Prophecy? The School was insane. Everyone who worked there was insane. And what you're telling us is. Insane." I drew out the last two words slowly.

"Wait, Max." Fang was frowning. He glared at Anna from under his dark bangs. "What are you talking about?" He asked her. "And how does this have anything to do with Angel?"

"Angel was never meant to complete the Prophecy. When she was very young, the scientists at your school suspected as much. Fearing their mistake, they implanted a virus inside of her meant to terminate her at any given time…all they have to do, is activate it."

We were all staring at Anna—no, more like gaping, actually. I couldn't think. You know that feeling when you're going down the stairs, and you miss a step, and your stomach kind of flips? Magnify that about ten times—that's what I was feeling.

I blurted out the first thing that came to me. "What do we do?"

"Excuse me?" Anna frowned.

"How do we fix it? Stop it? How do we _get it out of her_?" I hissed through gritted teeth.

"Did you misunderstand me? The prophecy—"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PROPHECY." I snarled at her, my stress making me touchy. "Do you know how many times we've been told that we were created for some 'greater purpose'? It's bull. All of it. All I care about is how you got you're information—if you're telling the truth—and how to fix it."

Silence. I felt everyone's eyes on me, and my blood boiled. Anna clenched her jaw. She suddenly looked icy.

"It is impossible to fix it." She said stiffly. "I'm telling you this for _your_ sake, Maximum. Angel is now a threat to the rest of you—if you come with my men, we will protect you while we further study—"

That was it. As soon as we heard the word 'study', I felt the whole Flock tighten up around me. I stared at Anna through narrowed, dangerous eyes. "We're not going to be your _guinea pigs_." I growled, very slowly.

"Don't be dramatic," Anna replied at once. I could tell that this was moving faster along than she had wanted it to. "Cooperation is necessary for your Flock's survival. A few tests would only be to guarantee—"

"I decide what's _necessary_ for our survival." I cut her off again. "Not you, and not your thugs." When Anna said nothing, I turned to Fang and the others. "This was a waste of time." Turning on my heel, I began to walk away.

"Max!" Nudge's voice squeaked from behind me. I whipped around just in time to hear a faint _click_. Anna had withdrawn a gun, and was pointing it directly at Nudge's head. There was a flutter of dark wings, and then Fang was suddenly lunging forward. In a flash, Anna's gun was skidding away across the rooftop, and Fang was looming over her grimly.

The goons on either side of Anna stepped forward. She was smirking. "I wish you hadn't forced me to do this."

There was a slam, and for a minute I couldn't figure our where it had come from. But Iggy, whose hearing was better than any of ours, whipped around to face the door Fang and I had just come out of. Armed men were thundering up the stairs and out onto the roof. I counted fifteen, maybe more. At the exact same moment, I heard an ominous chopping sound coming from a way off. I dared to glance at the sky, and saw the unmistakable shape of a helicopter heading right for us.

I couldn't believe how stupid I was.

"Fly!" I shouted to the Flock, my wings spreading. To my surprise, nobody moved. I turned. I was ready to get out of here—and kick some butt on the way, if necessary. So why…

And then I saw what Anna was holding. In the hand not carrying the gun, she held a small, blinking black device. A chill shot through me.

"If you leave this rooftop," She said in her slow Russian growl. "I will be forced to detonate the C4 that I have hidden in this building. I took out a little insurance policy, you see…to make sure this meeting went as planned. There is enough of it to kill every single person inside. You leave," Anna's eyes gleamed manically. "And all of that blood? It will be on your hands."


	4. The Ambush

**Title:** Broken Wings  
**Rating:** PG-13ish. Violence, language, you know.  
**Fandom:** Maximum Ride / Alias  
**Pairings:** Fang x Max, Sydney x Vaughn, some Iggy x Ella. Maybe others.  
**Chapter Summary:** Sydney decides to disregard all common sense, drop all pretense, and kick some ass. What else is new?  
**Notes:** Hey, special thanks to my first reviewer, StarofCalamity! Tee hee, that's definitely the kind of reaction I was going for.

SYDNEY P.O.V

I faked a ditzy grin that literally hurt my face as both of the kids pushed past me and headed up the stairs. But the moment they were out of sight, I dropped it and turned away. "Was that them?" I whispered under my breath.

"There should be more of them than that." Vaughn's voice rang through.

"Did they split up?"

"Maybe. Why else would two teenagers be sneaking out onto a building roof?" Vaughn pointed out.

I shrugged. "I don't know. To make out? Do drugs?" I half-joked. I heard him laugh.

"At a party like this, I don't think they'd need privacy to do either of those things." Vaughn's visual on the situation was thanks to Marshall. During Op Tech, he'd equipped me with a hidden camera disguised as an earring, as well as several other gadgets he decided might be useful. Except I didn't get a gun.

"Only building security are permitted weapons. They'll throw you out if they find you with one." Dixon had said. "Besides, the plan is to get to them before Anna does. No fighting necessary."

I _never_ got a gun.

Speak of the devil, Dixon came online shortly after. "Better check it out, Syd." He advised.

"Got it." I brushed aside my bright pink bangs(someone's idea of a joke back at base camp, I guess) and turned back to the door.

"Sorry, miss." A deep grunt came from behind me. I jumped back and crashed into the huge, square frame of one of the security officers.

"Hi!" I smiled at him sheepishly. "I was just admiring the, uh…doorframe here. It's very…decorative." Not one of my best covers. But after adding a bit of slurring, I was good to go. Rule number one at an eighteen year old's party: act drunk, and no one gives you a second glance.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Party guests are not permitted back there." He told me bluntly.

I forced a blank look onto my face. "Okay. I was gonna go get some more punch look like you could use some too." With a crooked grin, I patted him on the cheek, then sidestepped him and forced my way back into the crowd. I could feel him staring suspiciously after me, but I was distracted by the repressed snort in my ear.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I mumbled.

"No, no, I'm just…glad you're so good at your job." Vaughn's smiles are just so audible. It's kind of cute.

I turned back to watch the door, waiting for the guard to walk away. But he _wasn't_ walking away. In fact, about a dozen or so more security officers were slinking along the wall, and when the first opened the door, the rest followed him inside. They attracted a few curious glances, but no one seemed to really care much. No doubt they assumed that this kind of thing was normal—either that, or the majority of them were too wasted to think about it. But I knew what this had to mean immediately.

"Security forces have been compromised. Anna's men are in the building." I reported urgently.

"Damn," swore Dixon, "She's not going to waste time here. You've got to get up there."

I was already pushing back through the crowd towards the door. I didn't really care who saw me this time. This many reinforcements; an attack in front of so many people? Anna _really_ knew how to piss me off. Why _had_ she organized this in a place as public as this? I thought it over as I headed through the door and up the stairs. Knowing her, there had to be a reason other than plain stupidity.

"Sydney, wait!"

I skidded to a stop mid-stair, wincing as Vaughn practically screamed in my ear. "Ouch! What is it?"

"We have a visual on the rooftop. The kids you saw earlier are up there—and so is Anna. But her men aren't. They must be on the stairs still." He explained quickly

"What?" I looked up at the flights of stairs that were still above me, and realization struck. "She's waiting for something."

"Most likely because she's trying to bribe them into cooperating with her somehow."

I frowned. "What's going on up there? Do we have an ear?"

"No, just visual." Vaughn replied. "But our scanners are picking up a rogue helicopter nearby."

There was a grim silence as we both realized the same thing. "She's going to trap them." I spoke aloud. Biting my lip, I looked around. "I'm going up."

"_No._" Vaughn sounded alarmed. "You can't take all of them at once!"

"Vaughn—"

"Wait there, Syd."

"No," I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me. "I'll—I'll do something. Create a distraction, or—"

"You can't leave Anna alone with them up there." That was Dixon's voice, a sharp warning.

A long, painful moment of silence passed. I stood there seething with frustration and confusion until Vaughn's voice came through the earpiece again. "Okay. They're going out. They're armed."

I didn't wait for anything else. I sprinted the rest of the stairs quickly, my heart pounding at the thought of what I might find at the top. It turned out that they'd left one unlucky guard to watch the door while the rest of them went out. I guess he heard my footsteps, because he had a gun pointed at me before I even saw him.

I froze. He hesitated. "Who are you?"

"There's some… kind of riot going on… down…downstairs." I told him automatically, pretending to be out of breath. "Someone said to get security…up here."

He frowned, and lowered his weapon slightly. "What kind of—"

I grabbed his wrist and twisted hard before he could even finish his sentence, and his gun went flying over the railing and down the stairs. He shouted in alarm, and it turned out he was quicker than I thought. In the next second, his other hand was gripping me tightly by the neck. Gagging slightly, I grabbed him by the shoulders; knee'd him hard in the stomach, and slammed him even harder into the wall. He was out like a light. Surprisingly easy…except that I probably wouldn't have as much luck taking the rest of the men by surprise.

As if on cue, I heard shouting coming from outside. I guess the kids were putting up a fight. I pried the guard's limp hand off of me and let him sink to the ground, and then wrenched the door open.

It was utter chaos. Not two, but six winged kids were diving around the roof top. Some of them in the air, some of them on the ground, all of them zipping around to avoid the gunfire of Anna's men.

But where was _Anna_? It seemed impossible to find her in the mass of fighting. I darted forward and all but tackled one of the guys who was shooting at a girl that looked like she couldn't be more than six or seven. It wasn't the most refined battle strategy I'd ever come up with; I was pretty much clinging to his back, hitting and kicking blindly, but it worked. I was only trying to distract him.

But it worked a little _too_ well. With a rabid-sounding snarl, he threw me off him and onto the ground. I groaned and tried to stifle the newfound throbbing in my head, but a moment later I froze again. From upside down, I spotted the blonde teenager I'd seen before, locked in battle with an all too familiar opponent…

I struggled to my feet and ignored the fighting surrounding me. All that mattered was that I get over there. From the looks of things, Anna and the girl were pretty well matched in hand-to-hand combat, but then the girl would fly up in the air out of Anna's reach. When that happened, the Russian would fire bullet after bullet wildly into the air until she landed, and the struggle would start all over again.

"Anna!" I hissed furiously, grabbing her by the hair and whirling her violently around to face me. Just as I aimed a punch at her, she sunk her nails into my arm, right over my injury, and shoved me away from her when I gasped.

"Sydney Bristow." Her tone was mocking, but her eyes were narrowed in cold hatred that matched mine. "I was wondering when you'd show up and try to ruin my fun."

"What are you doing?" I demanded instantly. I was _seriously_ not in the mood for her games. "What do you want with them?"

Anna smirked. "Why don't you watch and find out?" She turned and fired another shot at the girl she'd been fighting

I was just about ready to lunge at her again, but someone else beat me to it. The dark-haired boy from earlier dove out of the air and all but bowled Anna over. In the moment that I hesitated, watching them, the winged blonde girl slammed into me hard.

These kids were a _lot_ stronger than they looked. I was too dazed to react immediately. "Wha—" Before I could speak, she threw a punch at me, which I only just managed to block. Then another.

"Wait!" I choked out as I tried to dodge her various attacks. "I'm try to—" I blocked another punch. "—help you!"

The girl drew back. Though she looked unconvinced, she hesitated. "Who are you?"

Before I could respond, a guard charged out of nowhere and fired at her. She leapt out of the way only just in time, and the bullet was driven into a nearby vent box. I did a double take. Those weren't bullets they were firing…they were _darts_. I stared. All of the guards, except for Anna it seemed, were carrying tranquilizers…which meant…

"They want you alive!" I turned back to the winged girl frantically. "Get your friends out of here!"

"You think we'd still be here if I could?" She shot back. "The Russian lady has a _bomb_."

It took me a moment to register this. "_What?!_"

"She said if we leave, she's gonna blow the whole place up."

"It's a little too late for warnings, Maximum." Anna had somehow shook the dark-haired boy, and now she was making her way towards us. In her hand was something that looked a lot like a detonator. I felt my heart skip a beat as she pressed the button. "You have exactly two minutes."

Anna seemed to realize that things were getting a little too messy—I guess she wanted to go out with a bang. I stared at her in horror. "Vaughn!" I blurted out, not caring who heard me. "Anna has a bomb somewhere!"

"What?! Where?"

I rounded on Anna. "Where is it?" I relayed the question furiously. She raised an eyebrow. Normally I would have smacked that smirk right off her face, but I was in too much of a panic.

Vaughn didn't wait any longer for an answer. "We'll never find it in less than two minutes anyway. The backup team will make sure the building is evacuated."

"But—"

"Sydney, get out of there now!"

_Wham!_

Some guy had actually swung his tranquilizer gun at me. I stumbled back, seeing stars, and only just prevented myself from falling over the roof's edge. I instinctively launched a flying kick at him. He caught me by the ankle and flung me to the ground. He then advanced murderously, and I was guessing his intentions were somewhere close to kicking me off the roof. Using all of the strength I could gather in my rather awkward position, I wrapped my legs around his waist and flipped him over me.

I had to block out his yells as he toppled over the edge. I had to focus on getting out of here. I guess the kids had the same idea, because most of them were already flying up into the air. I paused. I could only count five of them.

Then I heard a voice shout "Angel! NO!". I whipped around to see that three men had managed to restrain the six-year-old. To credit her, she was kicking and screaming viciously, but it didn't stop a fourth man from approaching her and sticking a needle full of some kind of thick, green substance into her arm. Angel let out an ear-shattering scream.

The blonde girl, who seemed to be their leader, was the first to dive at the men. To my surprise, they scattered instantly. Then I heard Anna's voice.

"It is over! Let's go!"

The helicopter had landed, and the few remaining men were making for it. I'd been counting the seconds until the bomb went off—I guess Anna had too.

_Thirty…_

Twenty-nine…

Twenty-eight…

The winged kids had gathered around the six year old urgently, and my mind raced. I had to get to Anna. If she escaped, there would be no fixing what had just happened. I spotted her just as she was disappearing into the chopper, one of the last people in.

I raced towards them, but the helicopter was starting to fly again. I had one chance. Taking a running leap, I managed to grab onto the bottom of it as it rose higher.

_Twenty-two…_

Twenty-one…

Twenty…

I struggled to climb up the rest of the way, but I didn't have a strong enough grip. I glanced back down at the ground, which was getting further and further away. I could see the girl, Angel, just lying there, her friends trying to wake her as the seconds ticked by…what could Anna have done to her?

Anna. She was suddenly framed in the helicopter's doorway, smirking down at me.

"Give me the antidote!" I shouted over the wind, tighting my grip even as I felt myself slipping. I didn't even know what the green liquid _was_, but I knew that Anna could fix it if she wanted to.

She sighed. "I don't think you're in a position to be making demands."

I bit my lip as her grin widened.

"It's been a pleasure, Agent Bristow."

"Anna—"

With a sickening stomp, she slammed her boot down on my hands and twisted. I felt my grip loosen completely, and with a barely suppressed scream I was suddenly hurtling towards the ground.

_Eleven…_

Ten…

Nine…


	5. The Injection

**Title:** Broken Wings  
**Rating:** PG-13ish. Violence, language, you know.  
**Fandom:** Maximum Ride / Alias  
**Pairings:** Fang x Max, Sydney x Vaughn, some Iggy x Ella.  
**Chapter Summary:** A very narrow escape is made, questions are answered, and it becomes clear that Angel could be in very real danger. Damn you, Anna!  
**Notes:** I just realized, when I was writing this, that I love Gazzy. So much. =) Also, I hate writing stuff like this. Exposition-y chapters. They're just so much darned work.

"Angel! NO!"

The words left my mouth automatically. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Angel struggling against the goons--four, five, I couldn't stop to count them. All I knew was that before I could respond, before I could even _think_, one of them was injecting a needle into her arm. One thing I'd learned from a life on the run from crazy scientists: needles were never good.

The rest of the Flock hovered around me. It was like we were all frozen in place from the shock of what just happened. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like hours that we hovered there, completely disbelieving what had just happened, and helpless to reverse it.

And just like that, my brain started working again. I felt rage hit me like a ton of bricks. Those guys were definately _dead_. I dove down straight for them, but before I could reach them, they scattered. For a minute, that threw me off. I expected them to try and shoot me or grab me as I lunged at them, but they were completely backing off. _Scumbags! Fight back!_ I was fully prepared to go after them, but then I caught sight of Angel. My heart stopped.

She had collapsed on the ground. And she wasn't moving.

"Angel!" I called again, and suddenly I forgot all about the fight we were still right in the middle of. All that mattered was that Angel, the youngest member of the Flock, was hurt. Maybe worse.

When I landed beside her, I realized that the rest of the Flock was right at my heels. As we gathered around Angel, I felt a rush of relief as I realized that her eyes were open. She looked around at all of us, and I bent down next to her. "It's okay, sweetie. It's okay." I was trying to convince myself as much as I was trying to convince her. There were a million and one things that were rushing through my head, but somehow one of them managed to push through the most clearly. The bomb. There couldn't be much time left. I had to get Angel--and everyone else, some place safe. "Can you walk?" I asked her gently. I was trying hard to disguise the urgency in my tone even as my voice cracked.

Angel had to struggle to answer. "I...can't...Max. I can't move." She was trembling from head to foot, and I wasn't sure whether it was from shock and fear or from some horrible effect of whatever had just been injected.

"Max, we need to get her out of here. Now." That was Fang, but I barely heard him.

Gazzy struggled to push his way closer to us. I couldn't even look at him. I couldn't take his expression. Angel was his sister. I mean, with most of the Flock, it's kind of like we're siblings anyway, but Angel was his biological sister. "I'll carry her." He said bravely. "I can do it. Let me carry her."

But even as he said it, Fang bent down and scooped up Angel in his arms. "I've got her." He said, in that reassuring, but very, very rare gentle tone he has.

Sick shock was still hanging over all of us like a thundercloud, but it was wordlessly agreed that before we could deal with anything, we had to get away from the immediate danger. But just as we all began to rise into the sky, a scream rang through the air. Even as I kept flying, I looked back. For about half a second, maybe even less, I could see 'Bubblegum' dangling from a helicopter that I assumed was Anna's means of getaway. Before I could even blink, she was falling, and fast.

You just don't stop and think about these things. Not when you've been saving the world time after time. Muttering a curse under my breath, I performed my second head-first dive of the night, sped toward her, and managed to grab her about eight or nine feet above the ground. The momentum of the fall started to drag me down, but then, amazingly, Iggy was beside me.

Iggy's blind, but sometimes it feels like he can see more than the rest of us. He can pick up on the slightest of sounds, like my wingbeats, and would certainly be able to pinpoint a sound as loud as a scream. It only took him a second to find me, and then he was supporting Bubblegum with a short nod that said "_I've got this._'. No questions asked. Because there just wasn't _time_.

I left him to carry her in a half-fireman's lift, and we soared up to join the rest of the Flock, who were waiting for us high above. Only seconds later, the sky was lit up brilliantly as a thunderous noise signalled that Anna hadn't been bluffing. I didn't look back.

My first priority was to find any kind of shelter, and stop to make sure Angel was alright. With the Flock in this state, we weren't going to make it back to our safehouse right away. We ended up stopping under a small bridge, a place that was mostly hidden by the shadows of the night. When we landed, Iggy dropped Bubblegum a little ungracefully--she seemed a little shell-shocked, but we left her alone. Right now, everyone's main concern was Angel.

Fang set her down gently, propped up against one of the bridge's walls. Gazzy, who had never left her side, sat down close to her. I bent down.

"Angel?" I asked quietly. She was still concious. That had to be good. Right? "How do you feel?"

She stirred slightly. "I dunno. Tingly. Sleepy." She managed. I exchanged a worried glance with Fang, but kept my cool both for Angel and the younger members of the Flock who were watching.

"Don't fall asleep. Not yet, okay?" I told her gently. Angel nodded. I reached out, and brushed some hair out of her face. I had to reassure her, even though I was falling part. This was _my_ fault. It was just hitting me now, through the fading adrenaline. I was so _stupid_ to drag everyone into this when we had so little information.

Fang has a talent for detecting this sort of thing. I felt him reach out for me. "Hey. Max, listen..."

But I didn't want to hear it. I couldn't break down in front of the rest of the Flock. "Not now." I gritted, leaving us all to fall into heavy silence. Finally, Nudge spoke up.

"Max? We--we're gonna help Angel, right? She's gonna get better?"

I closed my eyes. What could I say? I had no idea. No idea how to fix this.

But maybe someone else did.

I stood up, eyes narrowed, and turned to Bubblegum, as I had decided to dub her. She was watching us from a few feet away, but seemed hesitant to get any closer. I cleared my throat in hopes of finding my voice.

"What did they do to her?"

She blinked, suprised. Uncertain, she didn't say anything. I didn't have time for this, so I repeated through my teeth. ""_What_ did they--"

"I don't know."

The whole Flock was staring at her now. She took a deep breath. "It could be anything. From a tracker serum, to..."

I raised my eyebrows. "To?"

Bubblegum paused. "...A lethal injection."

Well, that was blunt. I wasn't even willing to think about that option. I shook my head, even as Iggy stepped forward.

"So there's nothing you can do to help her?" He asked.

Once again, she hesitated, as if she were hesitating to reveal something. "No, I can't." She said finally. "But I know people who can. I work for the CIA."

Immediately after those words left her mouth, I snorted. "Okay. Sure."

Bubblegum was quick to try to back herself up. "I know how this sounds. I'm sure Anna told you the same thing--"

"Actually, she told us she was working for some K-Directorate company." I corrected her. "Not like it matters."

But apparantly, it mattered, because for some reason Bubblegum was looking both confused and disturbed. "She told you what?"

"And how do you know her, anyway?" I went on without paying attention. Angel could be dying, and I needed answers. Now. "Are we supposed to believe that you just _happened_ to see us at that party, and then just _happened_ to show up exactly where she planned her ambush?"

She remained infuriatingly calm. "You have a lot of questions," She sighed. "I get that. But you need to understand that I'm not authorized to talk about it--not here. All you need to know is that I was sent there to stop Anna. I don't know what she was trying to do with that injection...but if you come with me, I can try to fix it."

I didn't even have to look at the others. I could feel their skeptical disbelief. When I spoke again, I can safely say I was speaking for all of us. "First of all, you should know that even if you're legit, it doesn't really matter. We've had too many bad run-ins with the government to trust them again." I said flatly. "Second of all, we'll decide exactly what we need to know." This was sounding way too familiar. Anna told us to come with her for Angel's sake. And now this woman was telling us the exact same thing. "If you want us to even consider listening to you, you'd better tell us exactly who you are, and what you want."

"And what Anna wanted with us." Fang prompted, suprising me by speaking at large for the first time. "She mentioned a prophecy."

Bubblegum looked at each stubborn face in turn. "Anna...didn't tell you anything?"

No one answered. Our expressions were answer enough.

She took a deep breath. "Okay. But we have to make this quick. My name is Sydney Bristow. I work for the CIA, and I was assigned to your case...yesterday."

"We have a case?" Nudge piped up, mildly interested.

Sydney nodded. "If an enemy of the United States is interested in you, then yeah. You have a case. And that's exactly what Anna Espinosa is." She looked around at us, and then continued. "Have any of you ever heard of Milo Rambaldi?"

"Bless you." Iggy muttered from behind me. Sydney either didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him.

"Who?" I replied more seriously.

"Rambaldi was an inventor and a prophet from the renaissance period." She explained. "His ideas were...way ahead of his time. Some of them are still ahead of _our_ time."

Oookay. What did any of this have to do with what just happened? "Like what?" I asked skeptically.

"Like genetic experimentation." Sydney's gaze shifted to my wings briefly.

There was a loaded pause as we realized what she was hinting at. "Wait," I said, trying to put all of this together. "You think this...guy had something to do with...us?"

"But that was like, a gazillion years ago." Nudge pointed out, folding her arms. "We know who made us like this. The School did. They--"

But I silenced her with a look. This definately wasn't the time to get into the story of our lives, especially in front of someone we hardly knew. Besides, I didn't like talking about the School at the best of times. Even though they were fading away into a memory, it was the kind of memory you just don't forget.

"Yes, they did." Sydney was saying patiently in response. "But they were able to because they were in possession of Rambaldi's notes. That's what gave them a jumpstart on their research."

I saw Fang frown deeply. "Where are these notes? Can we see them?" He demanded, quietly but firmly.

Again, Sydney hesitated. "I'd have to get you clearance for that. And to do that, you'd have to come with me."

Once again, that was just a _tiny_ bit of a problem. I was not about to endanger us again by taking another risk. Still, we didn't know everything about this yet. "Let's just say for a second that this somehow makes sense. Why would someone like Anna or whoever, care about the School's research?" I asked.

"Because of the prophecy." As soon as that was said, I opened my mouth to respond, but Sydney quickly cut me off. "No, I don't know what it is. The CIA only has Rambaldi's notes, which Anna stole from the School. The prophecy is what motivated her to steal them in the first place. It's...complicated. But apparantly, Rambaldi made several different prophecies, and now it looks like one of them is about you. That's why Anna's interested. She's a devoted follower of Rambaldi--practically obsessed with him. And she's one of the people that believe that if all of Rambaldi's artifacts are collected, and all of his prophecies are completed, then it would achieve some kind of huge end result. And that would be very, very bad."

Personally, I didn't care what a prophecy said about us. And all of this stuff about this Rambaldi guy was making my head spin. But if this was the reason Anna was after us, if this was the reason she hurt Angel, it suddenly became a concern. I suddenly remembered something Anna had said. "Yeah, she did tell us about a prophecy. She also told us that Angel wasn't a part of it. She said that she had some kind of virus...that something was wrong with her. That's why we went to meet Anna in the first place." I cast a glance back at Angel, who still hadn't moved, but was watching us with wide eyes.

"Did she give you any proof?"

I turned back to Sydney. "What?"

"If she didn't prove it, there's a good chance she was lying." Sydney explained as if this was just casual conversation. We all stared at her blankly. She shook her head. "That's what Anna does. She _lies_. She doesn't play by any of the rules. She was willing to blow up a whole building publicly just to get her hands on you. And if she said that your friend isn't part of her prophecy, then that's most likely the reason Angel was targeted." She bit her lip, and looked at Angel, adding with a hint of desparation, "They could have been trying to get rid of her. Which means we don't have much time."

I suddenly felt icy cold, even though it was a warm night. Without answering, I walking back over to Angel and knelt next to her again. "Sweetie? How do you feel?"

Angel looked less pale than she had a few minutes ago, and she had stopped shaking. But now, she looked completely terrified. "I can't feel my wings." She whispered to me. "I can barely move them."

Oh god. I inspected her wings closely, like I expected to see some physical sign of the damage done. I couldn't leave her like this. I stood up, and faced the rest of the Flock.

"Okay. You guys, take cover. Don't follow us. I'll take Angel and go with her." I tilted my head in Sydney's direction. "And if she's not who she says she is...well. Fang, you're in charge."

Fang stared at me grimly. "No." He said at once. "Not going to happen. We're not splitting up. Not again."

I closed my eyes. I was tired. I didn't want to argue with him. "Fang, this is the only way--"

"No. You don't get to put your life on the line like that. If we don't all go, then no one's going."

Before I could reply, Gazzy spoke up. He still hadn't left Angel's side. He stared at me, his big blue eyes identical to the six year old's, and said, "I'm not leaving my sister."

I realized I couldn't ask him to. That kid darn near broke my heart. But now, I had no idea what to do.

"You all can follow me...from the sky. From far away, if you want." Sydney broke the silence gently. "You don't have to walk in to the CIA until you're sure that's really who they are. Do you really think the U.S. government would try to kill you?"

To be honest, it really wouldn't quite suprise me. But I didn't say that, because this was beginning to look like our only option. I looked at Angel. Then I looked at everyone else. No words were exchanged between us. We were agreed. I looked at Sydney again. "Fine. But if you try to hurt any of us in _any_ way, we're going to have a big problem." I narrowed my eyes.

Sydney smiled faintly. "Fair enough."

Silence. Iggy shuffled. "So, do you have some kind of private helicopter we're going to follow?" He asked eventually.

She looked at him. Blinked. "If you don't mind, I think I'll be drive." She said slowly, looking vaguely uneasy. "I've had enough flying for one day."


	6. The Agreement

**Title:** Broken Wings  
**Rating:** PG-13ish for violence and language.  
**Fandom:** Maximum Ride / Alias  
**Pairings:** Max x Fang, Sydney x Vaughn, some Iggy x Ella and Jack x Irina  
**Chapter Summary:** The CIA works out where to go from here. Sydney and Jack squabble, Max is stubborn, and everyone gets nice and stressed out.  
**Notes:** Well, yeah. Things are starting to move towards the main idea of the story. But...wait and see.

**Chapter Six**

I was tired. I was grouchy. I really, _really_ wanted to go back to my apartment and sleep. But right now, I didn't have that option.

I more-or-less slumped into the CIA Los Angeles base, and was confronted in less than two minutes.

"Sydney!"

I turned to see Vaughn walking briskly toward me, looking uneasy but relieved. I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders even as he stopped a few feet away. I smiled slightly. "Hi. Is everyone okay?"

He nodded. "We got the building evacuated in time. But...I mean. It's gone. Anna completely destroyed it." He shook his head as if he couldn't believe it. "And we thought...we didn't know if you..."

I lowered my gaze apologetically. "I tried to contact you after I got out. Communications shorted out or something."

"It was the explosion that did it." Vaughn confirmed. He let out a breath that he seemed to have been holding in. "How _did_ you get out of there?"

How exactly did you explain something like this? I could have gone the "long story" route, but I knew Vaughn wouldn't buy it if I did. "...I...flew."

Vaughn stared at me blankly, as if he thought I was joking. "You flew." He repeated skeptically. He puzzled this for a moment longer, and then I saw it dawn on him. "Wait a minute. You didn't...those kids...?"

"They saved my life." I said simply. Glancing at the door, I added, "And they agreed to come with me. But they're waiting outside, I think. One of them's hurt." _Because I didn't stop Anna in time._ I added silently.

Vaughn sensed that something was wrong. "Syd? What happened?"

I sighed. "There's this kid--she's so little. She can't be more than six, maybe seven. And I think Anna tried to _kill_ her, Vaughn." I told him. The very thought made me sick. "I didn't stop Anna, and I couldn't help them, and I--I'm a mess." I veered off, suddenly overcome with a wave of frustration. "I'm covered in dirt, and blood, and my hair's _pink_--"

"Hey." I was startled slightly as Vaughn reached out and touched my arm. "It's okay. Don't worry about any of that right now. You go get cleaned up, and I'll send someone out to get the kids in here, okay?"

I managed to nod, realizing that my exhaustion had brought me dangerously close to breaking down. Vaughn smiled at me, and I returned it before heading down the back down the hall.

Once I had effectively gotten the one-wash hair dye out of my hair, and scrubbed the almost gothic amount of make-up off my face, I headed back out to work. My room-mate, Francie, was still at her own job--thank god. I could only imagine her expression if she ever saw me walk in the door dressed the way I was a half hour ago.

Back at the CIA, I immediately went in search of Vaughn, Dixon, or anyone who could fill me in on what was going on.

"Hey, Syd!" At the desk just ahead of me, Marshall leapt up from his seat, sending papers flying anywhere.

I tried not to look too amused as I bent down, picked up several of the papers, and handed them back to him. "Hi Marshall."

He smiled sheepishly at me. "Vaughn told me you didn't, like, get blown to pieces or anything. Good job!"

I couldn't help but grin at his choice of words. "...Thanks. Listen, have they told you anything yet?"

Marshall looked momentarily confused, until--"Oh! Those kids they just brought in? I saw 'em. They're kinda cute, actually...well, the little ones are. The tall one with the black hair kind of scares me." He confessed. I waited patiently for him to continue, which didn't take as long as it usually did. "The medical team was doing some tests on the youngest one, and I guess her friends didn't want to leave her alone, which I thought was kind of nice, you know?. But anyways, they took a blood and DNA sample. And then they took one from the oldest girl too--I guess she's their leader or something--to compare it to. I was just about to analyze the DNA now, actually." Marshall looked slightly proud of himself, before adding. "Oh! By the way, I think they want you in the meeting room."

Up until this point, he'd been talking so fast that if I hadn't known him, I'd have been completely lost. Luckily, I was, like most people here, fluently trained in 'Marshall-Talk'. "Great. Thanks, Marshall. Good luck with the DNA." I replied, smiling distractedly at him.

He shrugged. "Aw, you know me. Luck's got nothing to do with it!"

I opened the door to the meeting room, and paused. The first thing I noticed--and it was kind of hard to miss--was that all six of the winged kids were already in the room. Most of them were standing tensely, except for the youngest, Angel. She was perched uneasily in a chair, semi-surrounded by the others protectively. She still didn't look so good.

Dixon and Vaughn were seated at the other end of the table. There was one other person standing, and it only took me a second to recognize him. My father.

"Sydney," Dixon had noticed me standing in the doorway, and nodded to me. "Take a seat."

Hesitantly, I sat down across from the scene unfolding. No one in the room looked too happy.

"Right," Dad said shortly, addressing the kids. "My name is Jack Bristow. I assume you've met my daughter." He motioned to me without so much as a glance. A few of the kids cast a curious look my way, but if the news suprised the oldest girl, she didn't show it by so much as a flicker of her eyes.

"This is Marcus Dixon, and Michael Vaughn." He continued, motioning to each of them in turn. I glanced at Dixon curiously. Why had he put my father in charge of questioning them? After all, he wasn't exactly the most tactful person in the world. In fact, Dad was pretty much the definition of blunt and cold. But no one said a word as he continued. "Would you please identify yourselves?"

There was a pause. Finally, the blonde spoke up. "Max." She said shortly. "This is Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy...and Angel."

Dixon made a note on a sheet of paper. Clearly, he was taking all of this down.

Dad acknowledged this information with the tiniest of nods. "Would you please tell us exactly what happened tonight?"

Max sounded slightly impatient as she relayed the events leading up to and including Anna's ambush. Dixon took more notes, Vaughn looked like he was struggling to believe a single word of this, and Dad carefully hid any reaction at all. In fact, he frowned at them for about four seconds before continuing on with his next question.

"Why don't you tell us about the School?"

The tension in the room immediately rose. I could almost physically feel it, and the way that all six kids tensed up at once sent a shiver down my spine.

"How's that going to help you catch Anna?" Max demanded sharply.

Dad cast her a calculating look. "We're only trying to gather information to update files on both you and Anna Espinosa--"

"Whoa. Whoa whoa." Max held up a hand, her eyes narrowed. "Our files? You have no right to be making _files_. Our business is our business. The only reason we're here is to get Angel help." She pointed out.

"Which will be extremely hard to do if we don't have your fullest cooperation!" Dad shot back, looking more sour than ever.

I stared. Max was bristling, Fang had stepped forward tensely at her side, and the rest of them looked kind of worried. This was getting ridiculous. I stood up, and cleared my throat. "Sorry to interrupt," I addressed Dixon, though I glanced briefly at my father. "But right now, I think any questions that don't concern what happened tonight can afford to wait."

Dixon looked up at me, then gave a brief nod. I could feel Dad glaring at me, but I didn't look at him again.

"Right now, we need to decide the best course of action." Dixon agreed, intertwining his fingers.

"What about Angel?" Gazzy, the little blond boy, blurted out.

"Once we finish our tests and find out what's wrong with her, we can decide how to treat her." Dixon told him a little more gently. "But in the meantime, I'll need to ask you and your friends to stay under CIA surveillance. We already have a safehouse picked out for you."

Max shook her head immediately. "No way. We're _not_ staying cooped up in one place with a bunch of guards. You can't just hide us away like that."

Vaughn spoke up then. "I know it sounds hard right now." He told her. "Frankly, it sounds like it pretty much sucks. But it's only until we get Anna into custody."

"We can take care of ourselves!" Max argued. "We've done it before. We've been through worse."

"Think of it this way," Dixon interrupted calmly. "Until Angel gets better, you can't afford to be too far away from the medical care she needs. I also don't think you want to put any of your other friends in the same kind of danger you faced tonight. The safehouse would just be a place to rest and recover."

Max still looked pretty unconvinced, though I have to say Dixon does have a way of reassuring people.

"If it bothers you--if having the place surrounded by guards 24/7 seems too claustrophobic, then we can compromise. Security cameras on every entrance of the house, to make sure no one breaks in, and one agent there with you to ensure things run smoothly." He continued.

Max was still frowning, but I saw her cast a glance at Fang, as if she were silently asking his opinion.

"It can't hurt to try it out." Vaughn pointed out. "We're not asking for a permanent commitment."

There was a pause. Max grimaced. "If we're unhappy there...if anything seems off--or if Angel gets worse, we get to leave. No questions asked."

Dixon nodded to her shortly. "Then it's a plan. All that's left to decide is how to pursue Espinosa."

"Dixon?" I inquired immediately. "If you don't have a preference, I'd like to be assigned to this mission."

Dad spoke up so quickly that he almost cut me off. "Absolutely not. That's insane. We'd need a trained team to track Espinosa and her men." He growled.

Irritated, I tried to ignore that. "A team would be too noticeable." Even though I was talking to Dixon, I was clearly speaking out against my father. "I have experience with Anna. I know how she thinks, how she works. I've fought her before."

Suddenly, Dad rounded on me. "My point exactly!" He snapped. I blinked at him, startled. "You don't think when it comes to her, Sydney. You're _blinded_ by a personal rivalry grudge, and something like this is much too dangerous to have you go charging in without thinking."

I glared at him furiously. Spluttered for a moment. Then found my voice. Completely disregarding the fact that we were in the middle of a meeting, I snarled at him. "Charging in without thinking? Is that what you think I was doing?"

"What else would you call trying to jump into that helicopter tonight?" My father demanded. "You could have died. It was _stupid_."

"Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"I'm your father! Your recklessness is my responsibility!"

I clenched my fists. "I don't. Need you. To protect me." I gritted out slowly.

Dad flared up, but before he could say anything--

"ENOUGH!"

We whirled around to see Dixon, who had gotten out of his chair and was glaring sternly. "From both of you."

I suddenly realized where we were, and stopped short. I took a deep, steadying breath to try to calm myself, and turned away from Dad. "Look, Dixon. You know I can handle this." I told him softly. Back when I was a double agent at SD-6, Dixon was my partner for the majority of the time there. We'd been through a lot together, and he knew I could take care of myself.

Dixon surveyed me searchingly. "I agree." He said at last. "You should be assigned to this case."

I let myself relax. Dad snorted.

"You'll be the agent to go to the safehouse." Dixon continued calmly.

"I--what?" I did a double take, but Dixon wasn't joking. I stared at him blankly. Anna was still at large, and we _knew_ she was planning something big...but he wanted me to go hide with these kids and do _nothing_ except, what? Make sure Angel got to bed on time? I couldn't believe this. "Dixon--"

"We need someone to make sure they're safe." He cut me off.

"I don't think--"

"It's not going to be as easy as it sounds. But seeing as they already know you--"

"Barely."

"Syd." He raised his eyebrows. "I need you to do this for me."

I looked at him pleadingly, even though I knew there was no argueing with him. After a long moment, I sighed and glanced at Max and the others. "I'll need a cover. My roommate's going to be a little suspicious if I disappear for a couple of weeks."

"Already taken care of." Dixon announced. "All we need you to do is make the call."

The meeting seemed to last forever. Once it was finally over, I walked outside the room, pulled out my cell phone, and quickly dialed the number to my apartment. After a few rings, someone picked up.

"Hello?" A familiar voice answered.

"Hey Francie." I greeted, trying to sound relaxed.

"Hey, nice timing!" Francie chirped, realizing it was me. "If you can actually manage to get off work for awhile, Will and I were planning a movie night thing. You up for it?"

I sighed inwardly, knowing that once again, I was going to have to blow her off. "I--I can't. I'm sorry, it's just...the bank. They're sending me as a representative to one of their branches in Madrid. It looks like it's gonna take awhile. I was just calling to tell you." I told her guiltily. This wasn't the first time I'd been forced to lie to my friends to keep my cover, and I was sure it wouldn't be the last.

I could practically see Francie rolling her eyes. "You're kidding me. They're sending you on _another_ trip?"

"I'm sorry, Fran." I repeated quietly.

"Oh, no. Nevermind." Francie's tone softened. "I'm just jealous you get to go to Spain while I have to stay hear listening to Will whine about having to watch Footloose." She was joking, but I could tell she was dissappointed. I smiled sadly.

"Look, when I get back, I'll make it up to you. We can go to a spa or something, okay?" I offered. Then, more lightly, "At least Will won't be able to whine there."

Francie chuckled. "Okay, sounds good. And Syd?"

"Hmm?"

"Tell that bank to stop overworking you, or _I'll_ have to come over there and kick their sorry asses."

I grinned. "I'll do that." I replied, imagining Dixon's expression if he ever heard Francie talking about his 'sorry ass'.

"See ya."

"Bye." I clicked the phone off, then let out a sigh. Over my shoulder, I cast a look back into the meeting room. Max and the others were still standing, and all of them looked wary, irritable, and overall unhappy about the general situation. It was already turning out to be a long night.


	7. The Revelation

**Title:** Broken Wings.  
**Author:** Moi.  
**Rating:** PG-13ish for violence and language.  
**Fandom:** Maximum Ride / Alias  
**Pairings:** Max x Fang, Sydney x Vaughn, Iggy x Ella, some Jack x Irina  
**Chapter Summary:** Just as the Flock gets settled in to the safehouse, Angel's results come in. And the only people who can help her are the last two people anyone wants to deal with right now.  
**Notes:** BWAHAHA. Told you I'd fit these guys in. This'll be fun. Oh, and fun fact? Narva is located in Estonia, which is a small eastern European country. Just fyi =) Inspired by my research I'm doing on my great grandpa's family tree--he was Estonian. Interesting stuff, history.

Warm sunshine drifted in through the window. My first thought was '_Ugh. Who opened the drapes?_. Wait a minute..._drapes_? I opened my eyes and found myself laying in an actual bed. My head was propped on an actual pillow! Now, you probably take both of these things for granted, but let me tell you: when you're on the run with five other mutant bird kids and you never stay in one place for too long, a bed and pillow become rare luxeries.

I sat straight up, wondering where the heck I was. I was tense, ready to spring into action at the first sign of danger. Then, slowly, the events of last night came sliding back into focus. Agreeing to what the CIA claimed was protection, if only for Angel's sake. Being brought to their safehouse. We'd been given two rooms right next to each other: one for Nudge, Angel, and I, and another for Fang and Iggy. I looked around, and sure enough, both of the girls were buried under their sheets in beds across the room. They were still sound asleep.

We got in kind of late last night. After narrowly escaping a Russian terrorist, hiding out under a bridge, and being interrogated by the CIA, it was probably around three in the morning when we finally went to bed. I didn't completely trust the situation, and I wasn't able to get a whole lot of sleep anyways. But I did eventually end up drifting off, I guess. And we definately slept in. Judging from the way the sun was shining in, it was probably almost noon.

I got up, crept over to Nudge's bed, and lifted her pillow from where it was concealing her head. "Come on, sleepy head. Time to get up." I said, shaking her gently.

Nudge groaned something that sounded like "Mrrrmpherrg."

"Sorry, didn't catch that."

"I'm _tired_." Nudge lifted her head up off the mattress to stare at me groggily. "Do we have to get up _now_?"

I shrugged, smiling. "Sorry, sweetie, we've got stuff to do." Even if we were going to be cooped up here, I wasn't willing to sit around and do nothing.

Nudge looked slightly disgruntled, but she sat up obligingly. Satisfied, I turned to the tiny lump under the bedspread that was Angel. I sat down next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Angel?" I all but whispered. "Come on. Wake up."

There was a long pause. Then, almost in slow motion, Angel stirred. She poked her head up from under the blanket, peering out at me with sad blue eyes. I had to smile at her.

"Hey." I greeted quietly. "How ya feeling?"

Angel let out a tiny yawn. "Mmm. Weird. Still not normal…but not as tired." She reported.

I sighed. "That's good. We're gonna figure all of this out, okay?"

"Hey Angel," Nudge said, smiling widely at her. "I bet I know what would make you feel better! Breakfast! I could really go for some eggs. Or bacon…or both!"

Yeah, breakfast was probably a good idea. I was starved, and I was betting the others were too. But I slowed Nudge's bouncing before she could knock anything over. "Not so fast. Why don't you go wake up Fang, Ig, and—"

"Too late!" Gazzy announced, entering the room. He was looking a little less depressed than yesterday(the sleep had obviously done all of us some good), but he made straight for his sister.

Fang and Iggy weren't far behind him. Iggy took a seat on Nudge's bed, his strawberry blonde hair ruffled. Fang stood a few feet away, stretching his wings.

"Hey guys." I greeted them, glad to see that they all looked rested. "Everyone feeling better?"

Iggy smiled. "Not bad. What's the plan for today?" He wanted to know.

I hadn't really thought about it, to tell the truth. But it was clear that the Flock wanted to make themselves useful. "I dunno. We have to wait until Angel's results come back…then we'll try to help her."

Fang peered out the window. "We slept late." He muttered.

"I'm _hungry_!" Gazzy called from beside Angel, echoing Nudge's earlier comment.

I laughed. "Okay, okay. Hold on."

And then, as if on cue, there came a soft knock at the door. The boys had left it open when they came in, and Sydney now stood in the doorway. Sans bubblegum hair and gothic makeup, you could tell she was older than the eighteen year old she'd appeared to be—probably in her late twenties.

"Good morning." She said carefully, and a little awkwardly. There were still some trust issues going on, and she didn't seem to know how to address them. Well, that made two of us.

"Hi!" Nudge answered chipperly for all of us.

Sydney smiled slightly. "I just wanted to tell you, they're bringing in some clothes and things later today—whatever you might need." She looked around. "Is there anything you need that you left at…?"

Home? Not really how I would refer to the abandoned building we were staying in, but whatever. Before I could say anything, Angel spoke up.

"Total!" She gasped with sudden realization. "Total's our dog! I can't believe we left him! He must be so worried!"

Ah. Total. Our _flying_, _talking_ dog. I felt kind of bad forgetting about him, but so much other stuff had been going on.

Sydney was nodding. "Your dog? Okay, where did you leave him?"

"The building they abandoned behind Hoover Street. Top floor." I answered for Angel, mentally reminding myself that we would no longer be able to use the place for a hideout after all of this was over. Not once a CIA team had swept the place looking for a little lost, slightly neurotic dog.

"I'll make a call. We'll find him." Sydney reassured, her words directed mostly at Angel. She seemed to be about to leave, but then paused. "Anyone want breakfast?"

I barely had time to brace myself against the coming explosion. Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel started chattering excitedly in response. Sydney looked bemused by their outburst, but tried to listen to all three of them at once. "I guess that's a yes, then?"

I glanced at Iggy. "Iggy knows a few things about cooking. He'd be more than happy to help." I offered for him. Iggy nodded, and I could tell he was silently agreeing to keep an eye on our new 'buddy'. I wasn't picking up on any threats, but we couldn't be too careful.

Twenty minutes later, we were all downstairs and starting the day. Iggy and Sydney were in the kitchen, Gazzy and Angel were glued to the T.V., and Fang and I sat in the dining room. Nudge flitted between rooms, talking to anyone who would listen about the new music mix CD she was planning on making.

"Just like old times." Fang commented, watching Nudge scurrying around the house. I knew he was talking about the old house we once lived in with Jeb—my father. After everything we'd been through, that seemed like another lifetime.

I shrugged. "It's too good to be true. Too good to last." I replied bluntly.

He rolled his eyes. "And they call me pessimistic."

I gave him a playful shove, and he smirked. Our eyes met, and my own smile faltered slightly. Fang didn't miss it.

"You're still worried about Angel." It wasn't a question. I didn't try to deny it.

There was suddenly a knock at the door. I used this as an excuse to look away.

"I'll get it!" Sydney swept past at once. She opened the door, and, peering out into the hall, I saw the man who'd been introduced as Michael Vaughn step into the house.

I tried to seem interested in their conversation, but I could feel Fang's eyes on me.

"Max," He said, straight out. "There's nothing you could have done. You know that, right? It happened too fast."

I scowled at him reluctantly. "It was my fault we were there in the first place." I pointed out.

"We all agreed to go."

"But I should have been watching Angel closer!" I blurted suddenly, looking into Fang's dark eyes again. "She's the youngest. She's…" I didn't have to explain to him. He knew that Angel had always been like a little sister to me—or even more, a daughter.

Fang watched me closely, and I saw that familiar, comforting flicker of understanding in his features. "It's like you said. We're gonna deal with this."

He was so calm, so reassuring, that I felt like I could believe him. I felt safe.

It was then that Sydney came back into the room, followed closely by Agent Vaughn. She looked slightly pale, and he looked grim. I tensed at once.

"What's wrong?" I demanded, standing up.

Sydney took a deep breath. "I…I think you all need to hear this. Especially Angel."

Fang stood up beside me, his brow furrowed. "Her results are in? Is that it?"

Agent Vaughn lifted the papers he was holding. "We have them here. Please, call your friends in."

Sensing tension, Iggy poked his head into the dining room. "Hey guys? You want chocolate chips in the…" He froze. Turned his head inquiringly to the door. "…Pancakes? Who else is here?"

"Angel?" I called, not answering him immediately. "Nudge, Gazzy? Can you guys come in here for a second?"

The kids came wandering in a moment later. Gazzy stuffed his hands in his pockets. "What's up?"

Agent Vaughn wasted no time in getting to the point. "We finished analyzing the effects of Angel's injections. Now, we're not completely sure, because obviously we've never seen anything like this. But…" He trailed off, looking at Sydney for support.

Sydney hesitated. "We think Anna was trying to subdue Angel's abilities. Maybe even reverse them completely."

There was a stunned silence. My mind went blank, and I looked in shock at Angel. She looked afraid.

"…Reverse them?" I choked. "How…"

"We don't know to what extent." Agent Vaughn replied immediately. "She'll probably lose any feeling in her wings…permanently, if we don't do something."

"Max," Angel suddenly looked very frightened. "Max, I can't read his mind…I can't read yours, either." She said, turning to Sydney. "I can't read anyone's!"

I felt sick. This couldn't happen. Anna had gone too far. I don't care what kind of prophecy she believed in. She would _not_ destroy my Flock. My family. I felt angry and devastated and…and _scared_ all at once, but somehow, I found my way over to Angel. I knelt next to her. "It's…it'll be okay…" God, I could barely talk.

_Do_ not _fall apart, Max. You'll only scare her more._

Angel looked very close to tears. "I don't want this to happen to me." She whispered to me.

I looked her firmly in the eyes. "_Nothing_ is going to happen to you, sweetie. I promise." With that, I stood up, and looked over at the CIA agents. "How to we fix this?"

Vaughn frowned deeper. "We're not sure…the injection substance was very unstable. This could be—" He looked over at Angel, like he couldn't bring himself to scare her any more. He lowered his voice. "Painful. Even fatal."

That was it. We had to do something, and now. "How do we fix it?" I repeated through gritted teeth.

It was Sydney who answered this time. "Anna has a cure. At least, we think she does. If we can find it in time—"

"Where is it?" I asked immediately.

"We picked up a transmission in Narva. There's a lab that Anna's using there…that's where she'd be storing a cure. The problem is, it's an old base that was once used by the School." Sydney looked anxiously at Angel. "It's heavily protected, and the exact location is unknown."

"So that's it?!" Gazzy seethed. "You can't do _anything_ to help my sister?"

Sydney looked at him sadly, but Agent Vaughn answered. "Well, that's not exactly true. Marshall—our tech man, he hacked some old School databases. Employee lists, to be exact. We've found a few members that worked at the Narva base many years ago. Members that are known to still be alive today."

"What?" The question came from Sydney, to my suprise. She was staring incredulously at Agent Vaughn. "You didn't tell me that. Who?"

He looked at her grimly. "We sent out a message on a few networks that would be able to contact them. But Syd, it's a long shot. They'd never agree to go public, or meet with anyone connected to the CIA. They're known criminals." His gaze softened. "And I didn't want to give anyone false hope."

There was silence as we all stared at each other. Sydney narrowed her eyes. "Who are they? The employees?"

More silence. Agent Vaughn suddenly glanced at me. I couldn't take this.

"Who?" I repeated Sydney's question angrily.

He sighed deeply. "…Irina Derevko. And Jeb Batchelder."


	8. The Reunion

When Vaughn had first informed me of the contacts they'd found, I couldn't even form the words to respond. I just stood there, staring at him, praying that I hadn't heard him right.

_Irina Derevko._

Just when I thought my mother couldn't get any more horrible, I found out she was involved in this. "Please tell me you're joking."

Vaughn looked at me through sympathetic eyes. "I'm sorry, Sydney." He said softly. I saw him glance at the others, and I instinctively followed his gaze. The kids were staring at us, open-mouthed. Max's features were etched with cold disbelief.

I could tell that Vaughn wanted to say more. But when he spoke next, it was only to say, "I really need to go. They're expecting me…I'm already late. But look, I _promise_ I'll tell you more when we know." He looked seriously at me for a moment, and then, as if anxious to get away, he turned and slipped out the front door.

I couldn't think. I glanced at Max, but she seemed frozen to the spot. Without even realizing what I was doing, I was out the door in a flash, practically sprinting to catch up.

"Vaughn!" I called, and he whirled around.

"Syd, you shouldn't be out here." He warned under his breath as I neared.

"Don't give me that," I spat impatiently. "You can't just drop a bomb like that and—and expect—Vaughn, I _need_ more information. Please, give me something." I looked at him pleadingly, trying to convey the desperation I was feeling.

Vaughn ran his hand through his hair. "I know this is hard. I really, really get it. And I wish I could say something…anything that would make you feel better. But the fact is, we have no information. None. We only have what Irina is willing to give us." He gave a sigh. "And you know she'll never go for this."

I stared at the ground. "Let me talk to her." I said suddenly. I looked up again.

Vaughn stared. "What?"

"Listen, if you can get me in contact with her, if there's any way…she might be willing to listen."

Vaughn shook his head, looking bewildered. "You'd never get away with it. That would be breaking about twenty rules all at once."

"I'm not asking you to lie for me, or cover for me." I said quickly, urgently. "I wouldn't put you in that position! But Vaughn, I need to know if there's a way."

He paused. For a long time, I wondered if he'd even answer me. And then… "Marshall. Marshall would know."

I nodded. "Thank you." I said, relieved.

"And Sydney?" Vaughn added. "You know I'd cover for you in a second. I've told you before…I'm on your side."

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I just stepped forward, closed my eyes, and hugged him tight.

When I returned to the house, it was oddly quiet. I came into the T.V. room and saw the Flock seated around the various chairs and the sofa. From the way they were staring at me, I could tell they'd been talking before I came in. There was a small, awkward silence.

"Who's Irina Derevko?" Fang growled at last.

I grimaced. "My mother."

Fang gave a tiny nod, but Iggy uttered a small "Hmm."

I shot him a questioning look, before I remembered that he couldn't see me. "What?" I asked.

But it was Max who answered me. She was sitting with her arm wrapped around Angel's shoulder, comforting her, and she didn't look at me when she spoke. "Jeb Batchelder is my father."

I blinked, surprised, but instantly sympathetic. I knew what it was like to have a parent betray you. "Before this, did you know…?"

"Yeah." Max said shortly. "We've always known that he worked for the School. But he never told us about this."

"Do you have any way of contacting him?" I didn't mean to sound interrogating, but this was important.

Max finally looked up at me. "Not anymore." She said evenly.

I didn't say anything else. Defeat washed over me. Then, Gazzy spoke. "So that's it? It's over?"

"No, listen," I looked at him earnestly. "We're doing everything we can—"

"You mean _you're_ doing everything you can." Max stood up suddenly. "You barely even know Angel! You don't know how much this means to her! You really expect us to just sit here while you try and stop the people who did this to her?!"

I stared at her, contemplating. She was stubborn, but she had a point, and I knew that if I was in her position, I would want exactly the same thing. "No…I don't." I said at last. "So if and when we get the information we need, I _promise_ you that I'll make sure they let you help us. No matter what happens. But right now, I need to find a way to contact Irina. And _nobody_ can know about it. Please, Max." I pleaded, stepping closer to her. "Can you hold down the fort here for a few hours?"

Max stared at me levelly, almost sizing me up. Then, slowly, she nodded.

Now for the hard part.

--

I frowned angrily at the computer screen, willing it to display the results I needed. "Is it working?"

"One second." Beside me, Marshall typed a few phrases of coding into the database. "See all these IP addresses? It's kind of like a guestbook. Anyone who accessed this network is gonna show up here. Neat, huh?" He smiled proudly.

"Very." I murmured, still glued to the screen. "You think we can find the message the CIA sent to my mother?"

"Well, if we can, and she actually _read_ the message, I can use my tracers to connect to any communication devices Irina—ooh, sorry, Ms. Derevko, might have on hand." Marshall blurted excitedly. "Now, we won't get any locations. Y'know, no google map stuff. Heh. It's never that easy, is it? But if you wanna talk to her directly, this is definitely the easiest way to do it."

"Okay." I sighed. "Worth a try. And Marshall? Thanks. I really do appreciate this."

"Aw, any time, Syd." Marshall grinned. He seemed thrilled to be facing the challenge of a good hack, at least.

I watched anxiously as the results filtered. After what seemed like hours, a tiny green light blinked rapidly.

"We've got a connection!" Marshall all but leapt joyfully out of his seat. "Awesome! This is great! You should have no problem getting a hold of her now." He turned to me, fiddling slightly. "Uh, well…I guess I'll leave you two alone, then." With a shrug, he leapt out of his seat, gave me a little wave, and headed back toward his desk.

I smiled, watching him go. Marshall really did grow on you. I just hoped he wouldn't mention any of this to my father. If Dad found out about who I was trying to contact, he would probably skin me alive. And a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have blamed him. It wasn't long since I had sworn I'd never speak to my mother again. But now…it didn't look like there was much choice.

I took a deep breath, glanced around to make sure no one had entered the small office, and typed.

MOM? IT'S ME. SYDNEY.

I wasn't really sure how this was going to work. It seemed like a kind of crude paging/instant messaging system. But after several minutes, there was still no reply. I frowned.

THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN BE TRACED FROM HERE. I'M USING MARSHALL FLINKMAN'S COMMUNICATION LOCATOR.

A pause. Obviously, she wasn't going to trust me that easily. Time to dive right in.

I NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT THE SCHOOL.

I waited. I was almost holding my breath. This was my only chance…_our_ only chance. I had to find out what she knew. But it seemed Irina wasn't buying it…and somehow, I hadn't expected anything else. She'd let me down so many times before. What made now any different?

Resigned to the truth, I turned away from the computer screen. Then, suddenly, something flashed across the page.

» _I'D PREFER WE DO THIS FACE TO FACE._

I thought about it for about two seconds. It wouldn't be safe. I typed again.

DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID?

» _ON THE CONTRARY, SYDNEY. YOU'RE SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT IF YOU WANT ANY INFORMATION, IT MUST BE ON MY TERMS._

I hesitated. No, this was crazy. I was absolutely out of my mind. I couldn't _really_ be considering meeting a known criminal and terrorist who'd betrayed and lied to me more times than I could count? And yet, said criminal and terrorist was my mother. She'd had plenty of chances to kill me if she wanted me dead. I could at least find out what she was asking.

WHICH ARE?

» _I WANT YOU TO MEET ME AT PIER 47, AT EXACTLY 11:45 PM. NO SECURITY OR SURVEILLANCE. NO WEAPONS. YOU COME ALONE. IF YOU TRY ANYTHING, YOU'LL NEVER GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED._

Could I really trust her? Agreeing to this would be defying my superiors. To meet with a known international criminal would be breaking every rule in the book…it would be _going behind the CIA's back_. I tensed. And then, I thought of Angel. An innocent, six year old girl who could be dying because of what Anna had done. I thought of the countless other people Anna could harm if her mission was successful. And that was all I needed to set my resolve.

ALRIGHT.

» _DON'T TELL YOUR FATHER._

Well, one thing was for sure. If she thought I had any intention of telling Dad about this, she really _did_ think I was stupid.

--

My watch read 11: 42, exactly. It was the only technology I'd brought with me, along with my cell phone. Knowing my mother, she'd have some sort of security sensors hidden around here. And if she found out I had any gadgets on me, she wouldn't show.

I walked slowly and cautiously down pier forty-seven. Everything was dark and shady, and I could barely see. This didn't feel right. What if it was a trap? A trap that I'd so stupidly walked in to. If it was, then I had undoubtedly let _everyone_ down by coming here tonight.

I stood, tensed, letting the silence wash over me. And then, in the alley behind the pier, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. An indistinct shadow, vaguely resembling the form a person. And then, as the figure stepped closer, her features became clearer. For a moment, I had the impression that I was staring into a mirror. The same dark hair; same light brown eyes. But as the moonlight illuminated her, I realized quickly that this woman was older than I was; her features were darker, her expression more cunning and calculating.

I was looking at Irina Derevko.

"Hello Sydney." She greeted smoothly.

I gaped at her. Part of me didn't even believe she was real. "Mm—" But I caught myself before I could utter the word "Mom." The last time I had felt close enough to this woman to call her that, she'd turned around and back-stabbed me, my father, and everyone at the CIA.

Irina soundlessly approached until there was about four feet between us. I froze, looking her over warily.

"I'm not carrying a weapon." She arched an eyebrow, looking vaguely amused. "After all we've been through, I would have at least thought you'd know by now that I have no interest in taking your life."

"That's only because you need me. You need me to be the retriever of your precious Rambaldi artifacts, so you can steal them from right under the CIA's nose the second I bring them back." I wasn't fooled for a moment, and I stared her down icily. "Isn't that right?"

Irina didn't miss a beat. "No," she said calmly. "It's because you're my daughter."

I'll admit that threw me off for a second. But it didn't take long for my anger to boil over. "Stop." I gritted. "I know what you're doing. And it won't work…not again."

"Oh Sydney," Irina looked mildly exasperated.

"No." I stopped her instantly. "I didn't ask to speak with you so you'd have another excuse to manipulate me. I asked you to speak with me to answer my questions. If you aren't going to do that, then why are you here?"

She gave me a very strange look, opened her mouth, and then closed it again. Whatever she was going to say, she'd decided against it. "Ask away."

I wasn't going to give her another chance to change the subject. "You worked for the School." I all but accused. "In Estonia. A facility in Narva."

"I did." Irina nodded faintly, her eyes narrowed. "I'm curious, however…who gave you the lead?"

I shook my head. "That doesn't matter. I was just wondering, between betraying your family and your country to Russian intelligence, faking your death, and running off to terrorize the world…when did you have time to work for them?" I inquired venomously.

Her expression was completely unreadable. She didn't so much as flinch. "That was a long time ago. It must have been…nineteen years. I was ordered there by the KGB. It was a very short employment, I assure you."

I did some quick math in my head. Nineteen years ago. That was two years after she'd left my father and I. "The KGB ordered you to work there?" I asked, and she nodded. "And then they ordered you to leave?"

Irina tilted her head. "Not quite."

"Then why—"

"Trust me, Sydney, when I say that you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

I clenched my teeth. More secrets…what had I expected? But there was no point in arguing with her. This wasn't what I'd come to find out anyway. "Fine." I said bitterly. "I need to know everything you can tell me about the facility. Exactly where it's located, and what security measures are in place."

"And why is that?" Irina inquired. "If you've come this far, you must have done enough research to know that the place has been abandoned."

Was she playing games? Or did she honestly have no idea about Anna. "Abandoned by the School," I agreed slowly, gauging her reaction. "But not abandoned completely."

I thought I saw a flicker of surprise in my mother's gaze, but she said nothing.

"What did they use it for? Back when the School had control?" I prompted.

Irina sighed. "What else? Genetic experimentation. The Narva base was, however, more focused on postnatal experimentation. They used children already born—aged anywhere from infants, to as old as about six." She explained quietly.

I felt a shudder of disgust. How could anyone be that inhumane? "And you _worked_ for these people?" I whispered.

She averted her gaze and repeated what she had said earlier. "I was following orders."

"Right. That's your excuse for everything, isn't it? Don't pretend for a second that you couldn't have put your foot down—"

"Listen to me!" For the first time, there was an icy sharpness to Irina's usually calm, quiet voice. "You could not possibly understand my situation, Sydney. And I did not come here to discuss it with you!" I almost stepped back, faced with this sudden ferocity. But then she seemed to realize that she had raised her voice, and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, I could see no trace of emotion. "I'm sure we'd both like to get out of here quickly. I'll answer your questions if you answer one of mine."

Oh, great. This would be good.

"Why do you need to know this? Who's occupying the Estonian labs that the CIA is so interested in?"

That was two questions, I noted. What was more, I wasn't sure exactly how much I could tell her. Any information in the hands of this woman could be dangerous. "Anna Espinosa and her team have set up in Narva. She's hiding out there. They're…she's…interested in one of Rambaldi's prophecies," I explained at last. "One that had something to do with the School research."

Irina's eyes widened. "The avian DNA crossing?" She mused, clearly familiar with the prophecy. "But why…?"

I didn't think it was safe to tell her about Max and the Flock. Not yet. Given Irina's obsession with Rambaldi, there was no telling what she would do. "Anna's trying to finish what the School started. She's continuing their research." I told the half-truth, trying to remain neutral.

She didn't comment on whether she believed me or not, but nodded. "Interesting. Well, if you need them, I can send the coordinates to the CIA, along with security information—"

"No." I interrupted, a little sharper than intended. Irina stared at me blankly. I took a breath. "No...I…I need you to give the information to me. Otherwise, there's a chance that…" I didn't finish. So many things could fill that blank. The CIA could decide not to send me in, or to simply destroy the lab—and Angel couldn't afford that. Besides, I'd promised the Flock that they'd be able to help, which Dixon would definitely never agree to unless I had leverage.

But there was no need to explain. My mother was suddenly tense. "You want to lead the mission yourself?"

"This is _really_ important." I began, wondering why I was bothering to explain myself to someone who'd broken the rules more times than I could count.

Irina held up a hand. "What's important is that you understand something, Sydney. You can _not_ get involved with this. Ask someone at the CIA to do it—anyone. But you need to stay away from this place." She hissed urgently.

I stared at her, completely confused and thoroughly disconcerted. "What?" Was all I could think to say. I looked closer, and realized that the expression on her face could only be described as…_fear_. I suddenly felt indignant. "How can you tell me that? You have no idea what's at stake here. It's my job to stop people like Anna!" _And people like you_. I added silently.

Irina took my hand suddenly, and I was too stunned to pull away. "I know you like to play the hero, Sydney, but this is…it's too deep. Believe what you like, but I'm telling you this only because I'm concerned for your safety."

"You have no right to be concerned about me!" I backed away from her jerkily. "You've betrayed Dad and me twice now. Remember that? You left us _twice_. You have no right to stand there and act like you actually _care_ about someone other than yourself."

"But I do." Irina said simply. Before I could say anything, she was pushing a small object into my hands. I looked down, and realized that it was an ear piece set, a lot like the one I used at the CIA.

"It's a two-way communicator. Equipped with bug and tracker killers. Don't bother trying to trace the frequencies." She explained, smirking slightly. "If you want your information, you'll fly to Narva, and contact me on this. The only person I trust to get you through that security alive is myself." And then, turning on her heel, she began to walk away.

I stared speechlessly after her. I had no idea what to think, or whether to trust what she'd just told me. Because when I thought about it, she'd more or less told me _nothing_.

Sensing my bewilderment, Irina turned around one last time. "Remember what I told you before, sweetheart. Truth takes time."

And then, just like that, she was gone.


	9. The Beginning

Here's the thing about these neck-risking, heat-of-the-moment missions we always seem to find ourselves on: you can do it a hundred times and think you're pretty much used to it, but when someone's life is on the line, your perspective changes completely.

Going into that lab and knowing that we'd lose Angel if we messed up created a kind of tension we didn't feel that often. But I was determined. Anna Espinosa has messed with the wrong mutant kids. And she was about to find out.

I gripped the arm of the airplane chair testily. I would have been _way_ more cool with this if we'd just been able to fly in ourselves. But without the intel the CIA was going to provide, we had no idea where this place actually was.

So here we were on an official government airplane—the whole Flock. Me, Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel. Angel wouldn't be going in, of course, but there was no way I was going to leave her alone back at the safehouse. She'd be okay here…I had to believe that.

As for Gazzy and Nudge, I had tried to convince them to stay behind, but they wouldn't hear any of it. They wanted to help. I couldn't blame them.

I stared out the window across from me and frowned. Somewhere down there was the lab that Jeb Batchelder, my own _dad_, had once worked in. He never told us about any of this…ever. Which made me wonder, how many other things had he 'forgotten' to tell us? He wanted me to trust him, to believe that he was on my side, but how was I supposed to do that when he had so many secrets?

I needed answers, but they'd have to wait.

"Whoa…my ears are popping. Feel that?" Nudge said randomly, probably trying to break the silence.

"That'll happen when we're going higher…or lower." Iggy explained knowledgably. "Cabin pressure."

Nudge considered for a second. "Cool!" But even her usually chipper tone sounded somehow empty. We were definitely all on edge.

Suddenly, Sydney came back into the cabin, Agent Vaughn not far behind her. "The pilot says we're in Estonia now." She announced. "Ten more minutes and we'll be flying over the base. Everyone okay?"

"Peachy." I nodded. I just wanted to get off this plane and get into action.

"Let's go over the plan one more time." Agent Vaughn said, looking around the cabin. "When the pilot brings us low enough, you jump—Syd, you'll have a parachute. The rest of you will be flying. Assuming Derevko's coordinates are correct," He paused, glancing at Sydney. "That'll get you past basic perimeter security. Sydney will enter the base disguised as a genetic specialized doctor. We've sent in a message telling them she'll be visiting…with one of her 'test subjects'—which is why one of you will be going in with her. That'll give you clearance to most of the building. Once safely inside, she'll plant a signal jammer that will cause a two minute security black out. In that time, the rest of you will get inside through one of the facility's side entrances, and take it from there."

Kinda complicated, huh? Well, once you've got it drilled into your head about twenty times, it starts to make sense.

"Any questions?" Agent Vaughn finished up.

"Let's just do this." I answered restlessly.

Sydney stood up. "I'm gonna go change, then." She said quietly, disappearing into the back room of the plane and effectively leaving us in an awkward face-to-face with Agent Vaughn.

He cleared his throat. "I'll leave you to get ready." He muttered to the room at large, and headed back into the cockpit.

"Well…" Fang was the first to speak. "This should be…interesting."

"Piece of cake." Gazzy said determinedly, puffing out his chest. "We'll beat this guy. No problem. Right?"

I'd been staring at my hands, but at that moment I looked up and met Gazzy's gaze. I had to hand it to him, he was one brave kid. I smiled. "Yeah. No problem, Gasman." I assured him.

Nudge had her face pressed against one of the windows. "It's so dark." She commented, squinting to peer outside. "I can't see the city lights any more. Now it's just…creepy."

"Well, creepy or not, we're going out." Fang said grimly. He stood up and walked toward the airplane door. "Can't be long now."

And it wasn't. A few minutes later, I had herded most of the Flock towards the door when Sydney reappeared. Her disguise consisted of a long, curly blonde wig, dark-rimmed glasses, and a white lab jacket that kind of creeped me out. Scientists were still a touchy subject for me.

"We'll be on target in thirty seconds." She reported, equipping her helmet and parachute pack. "Is everyone ready?"

"Definitely." I replied without hesitation. I glanced back at Angel, who was still crouched in her chair. "We'll be back really soon, okay? You'll be fine."

Angel nodded meekly, watching us with wide eyes. I smiled at her one last time before turning back to the door. Sydney took a deep breath, yanked it open, and leaped out.

After only a second's pause, I nodded. "Okay, Gazzy—go. Nudge, you're after him." We were all used to flying, of course, but none of us had jumped out of a moving plane too many times, and I wanted to make sure they got out alright. We didn't have time for hesitation.

Gazzy stepped forward. He hesitated, sucked in a breath, and pushed himself forward. I saw him spread his wings the instant he was out, almost gliding downward. Nudge gulped, then sprang out after him.

Iggy was next. "Well," he said wryly, "At least I don't have to worry about looking down." And before I had the chance to roll my eyes, he was out as well.

I looked at Fang, who was grinning back at me. "See you on the ground." He muttered, before zipping out the door without so much as blinking.

I watched his black wings, almost invisible against the night sky. I kept my eyes trained on him, ignored the lurch in my stomach, and jumped.

My wings opened almost automatically, immediately slowing my fall. The night air was freezing, and even though the plane had been lowered enough to make the jump possible, the air was still kind of thin up here. I needed to get lower as quickly as I could.

I had to admit, though, it was pretty wild. I could just _feel_ how high up I was. Below, I could see the rest of the flock circling, and even further down the tiny dot of a parachute. I tipped my head downward, flapped my wings, and dove.

"THIS IS TOTALLY AWESOME!" I heard Gazzy whoop as I swooped downward further. We were all getting closer and closer to the ground, slowly but surely…

And then, very clearly, I could see tree tops. "Heads up!" I called out, pulling up about fifeteen feet above them to choose my descent route more carefully. Gliding between the branches, I hit the ground with a soft _thud_. A perfect landing.

Gazzy and Iggy weren't far behind, and then came Fang and Nudge. I looked around, checking to make sure we were all okay.

"We've _got_ to do that more often!" Nudge grinned, trying to tame her windblown hair.

"We'll see." It'd been fun, but personally, I wasn't feeling the urge to get in another airplane. I trusted my own wings more than some mechanical ones. I glanced over my shoulder. "Where's Sydney?"

"I saw her landing over there," Fang reported, gesturing behind him. "Open field."

We trudged past a few pine trees into a more open, grassy area. I could make out the CIA agent cutting away her parachute a few meters away. She looked up and saw us. "Just missed the trees. How was your landing?"

"Wicked!" exclaimed Nudge.

Sydney nodded. "The lab is about a quarter mile from here. We'll all walk over there, and then one of you has to come inside with to disable security."

"I'll go." Gazzy offered immediately, but I stepped forward. I didn't care what anyone said, going in there was going to be dangerous. I wasn't going to put another member of the Flock in that kind of peril. Not again.

"No. I'll go." I said.

"Hold on." Fang said sharply, but I gave him a pointed look and cut him off.

"It's fine, Fang. You take care of these guys."

He glared at me, then opened his mouth to argue, but this time Sydney stepped in.

"We don't have time to argue! Every second we waste makes our shot at the antidote smaller." She hissed urgently.

We both knew she was right, but Fang was still looking moody. We didn't speak at all as we headed out towards the lab. I wished he would stop being so _stubborn_. I didn't need more to worry about on top of everything else right now.

I could see the dim lights of the few windows that were built into the round, stone building. It looked tall, cold, and foreboding. Definitely School material.

I adjusted my intercom earpiece. They were CIA technology, and we'd all been given them to keep in contact on the mission. "Everybody ready?" I whispered, and heard murmured agreements from the Flock.

"Stay hidden until we call you." I reminded them, before following Sydney out onto the stone pavement.

We walked in silence for a moment, before Sydney paused. I stopped and looked at her questioningly.

"This close to the building, you can bet they'll have cameras. You'll have to act unconscious." She told me hesitantly.

I nodded. I could already tell this was going to get messy. Slowly, I knelt to the ground, and, wincing against the cold of the cement, I laid down. I felt Sydney grab the back of my shirt collar. "Sorry about this." She said apologetically.

I smirked. I had done things _way_ crazier than this before. "I'm used to it."

It was an interesting little trip, being dragged into a School facility. In any other situation I probably would have been kicking and screaming, and even now I actually had to fight my instincts in order to hold still. But it was only a moment before I heard a code being entered, and then we were inside.

I grimaced silently as that distinct, science lab smell hit me hard.

I heard a deep, male voice demand something in what sounded like Russian, and then I heard Sydney reply in the same language. The man laughed suddenly.

"Ah. You are a local?"

"Dr. Kaisa Rebane." Sydney answered in a frosty Estonian accent. "I believe you have my visit scheduled?"

I heard brief typing. "Yes, yes. Your experiment…"

"She is heavily sedated. Nothing to worry about. Now, if you would show me to the lab?"

"Of course, doctor."

I could hardly believe it. They were making this too easy!

I was dragged through a set of doors that slid open on command, which was when I dared to open my eyes just a sliver. I couldn't see the man…he was probably in front of us.

"I'll inform Ms. Espinosa of your arrival now. I'm sure she is eager to meet—"

Then, all at once, Sydney suddenly let me go and—

_WHAM!_ The slamming sound didn't leave much to the imagination. The man shouted and toppled backwards, almost tripping over me. I jumped up, crackled my knuckles, and punched him hard against the wall. He was out like a light.

"See if you can find any keys on him." Sydney bent down to search the employee. "We'll need them to get into the security room."

I bent down and checked his front coat pocket, and felt cold metal against my fingers. "Got 'em." I announced, handing them to Sydney.

"Great!" She stood up, motioned to me, and headed a little ways down the hall. The security door had a lock, but also a coding panel. I stopped short, staring at it. I didn't remember hearing about a security room code. But for some reason, Sydney didn't seem phased.

"Base camp, this is Mountaineer. I'm going radio silent while I jam the signals." She said into her earpiece, before clicking it off.

"So…" I began, but Sydney held up a hand.

"Mom?" She whispered. "We need the access code for the security room."

What the…? I looked around to see who she was talking to, but the hallway was empty. And then, I saw it. Sydney was wearing a second earpiece. And it definitely didn't look CIA.

She paused for a moment, and then entered a five-digit code. The door clicked open. It didn't take a genius to realize what she'd done.

As we entered the room, I turned to her. "Does the CIA know you…?"

Sydney shook her head mutely, looking worried. "For an operation like this, Anna wouldn't have the time or money to install new security measures. And I doubt she'd want to, since the School's built-in security works so well. My mother is the only one who knows how to get past it." She explained.

Great, except for the part where we were pretty much putting our lives in the hands of a known criminal. But that little conversation was cut short by the tiny fact that inside the security room were two men, standing with guns pointed straight at us.

I didn't think, I just tackled the nearest one head-on. I guess he was a little surprised to see a part-bird kid lunging at him, because he hesitated long enough for me to get him on the ground. The other guy turned his gun on me, which gave Sydney enough time to attack him.

I twisted the guy's arm so that his gun went skidding away, and then I stomped hard on his face. There was a _crack_ that probably meant his nose was broken, and then he was out cold.

I turned around just in time to see Sydney rip the gun out of the other guy's hands, and bring the handle down hard against his head.

"I'm guessing that was the easy part." I said tensely.

She nodded mutely, still gripping the gun. "Can you make sure no one else is coming? I'm going to try to hack the system."

I slipped silently over to the door, closed it, and waited just behind it. If anyone else was coming, I'd hear them long before they'd even know I was there.

It only took Sydney a few minutes to plant the jammer. "Ready." She breathed at last.

I spoke into my own earpiece. "Guys? Security's off. You have two minutes to get your butts in here!" I called.

"Roger." I heard Fang say jokingly.

"We'll make it in one and a half." Iggy added.

Sydney and I headed out into the opposite hall and past various twists and turns, where we'd be set to meet the Flock when they came in through a side entrance. We made pretty good time, and soon I spotted the others running towards us.

"Any problems?" I asked.

"We had to take out two guards by the door, but they were easy." Gazzy boasted. "What now?"

"I'm going to head back to the security room." Sydney told us. "I can monitor the cameras to get you past any…obstacles. And we might need to hack security again."

"I'll go with you!" Nudge offered cheerfully. "I'm really good at hacking stuff."

"Sounds good." I nodded, taking a deep breath to prepare myself. This was it.

"Remember, we're meeting on the roof for the extraction." Sydney added. "Good luck." And with that, she and Nudge took off back down the hall that led to the security rooms.

I turned to look at Fang, Iggy, and Gazzy. "Here we go."

Fang glanced around. "Uh. Where _are_ we going, exactly?" He asked dryly.

He was right. There were actually a _lot_ of doors to choose from. How many different experiments could they run in all of these labs?...Actually, scratch that. I didn't want to know. "Apparently, the treatment labs are towards the back of this place. So…if we keep following the next hall down, it should get us there."

"Assuming Anna hasn't, you know, decided to redecorate." Iggy commented lightly.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, Ig."

We headed in what I hoped was the right direction, through the maze-like halls. It was kinda confusing, but overall pretty quiet. There were no guards anywhere. Wasn't this place supposed to be known for their security? So…either they were all busy doing something _big_, or this was a trap. I didn't like either option.

"Nice place." Fang said sarcastically. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?"

I looked from the pale, chipping walls to the dimly lit ceiling. "Oh yeah. Good times."

"Hey Max!" I heard Nudge's voice in my earpiece. "We're in the security room! We can see you on the cameras! Gosh, this is cool." She gushed.

Well, at least someone was having fun. "Cool. We ARE going the right way, right?" I asked.

"It looks like it." Nudge answered. "There's supposed to be a big, invisible laser grid right in that hall! But we hacked it for ya."

"What a lifesaver." Iggy grinned.

"Just keep going down—whoa…"

"Nudge?" I asked immediately. "What's going on? What is it?"

I could practically hear Nudge gaping, and it wasn't often that words failed her. It was Sydney that answered me. "Max, there's a man coming right for you. He looks like he knows where you are."

"What?" I tensed immediately. "Just one guy?" What kind of game was this?!

"I…I don't know…" Sydney was sounding increasingly wary. "But he's getting really close…oh my god…he's right in front of you, you guys need to get out of there!"

"We can't go back now." Fang protested, looking at me. "We need the antidote."

I stopped short. I could hear footsteps now.

"He has a syringe!" Hissed Sydney suddenly. "It's—I can't tell if it's the same kind of injection—"

"Hide!" Gazzy yelped immediately.

"MAX!" Nudge all but screamed in my ear. "Max, it's—"

But before she could tell me, I saw it with my own eyes. Jeb Batchelder rounded the corner just in front of us.

Everyone froze.

"Max," He said hoarsely. "Maximum. I found you."

Words completely failed me at that moment. Knowing that he had worked here under the School was one thing…but seeing him now, in that white lab coat, only meant one thing: He was working for Anna.

"I don't believe it." I spluttered suddenly. "Is this why you've suddenly decided to shut up in my head?! This whole time you've been working for…for _her_. _You_ put Angel in danger." I felt like punching him.

But Jeb was shaking his head. "You need to believe me. Yes, I've worked here, undercover. When I heard that someone had taken an interest in your Flock, I knew I had to stop them from pursuing you. Anna took me on as the building expert, because I've worked here before."

"Bull!" snapped Fang at once.

"There's no time to explain!" Jeb was looking extremely pale. "Yes, I knew what they were going to do to Angel. But I couldn't have warned you…it would have blown my cover. And I needed to stay—"

I wasn't ready to hear another excuse. For one thing, there wasn't time. "We'll deal with you later. Now get out of our way!"

"Max, I have the antidote you're looking for." He suddenly held out a syringe full of clear, thick-looking liquid. I stopped dead, staring at it.

"And we're just supposed to trust that that's the real thing?" I demanded.

"Why would I ever want to hurt Angel?"

"BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THESE PEOPLE ALL ALONG!" I snarled, stepping forward just as Fang grabbed my arm to keep me back. "If you were really on our side, you would have destroyed this place before any of this ever happened."

Jeb put his hand over his eyes wearily. "Yes, I know." He sighed. "And I had every intention of doing just that. But when I gained access to the labs for the first time…I discovered something that...that..I couldn't leave. I had to tell you...and this was the only way to bring you here." He explained.

This wasn't making any sense. I frowned deeper. "What are you talking about?!"

Jeb put the syringe in my hand. "You won't believe me unless you see for yourself." Turning sharply, he headed through the hall in the completely opposite direction.

I turned to the others, and they looked just as bewildered as I did.

"Stop!" I hissed at my father, charging after him. "You're not going anywhere!"

But Jeb kept going, and soon we were all following him into an empty corridor. There was only one door at the end of it.

"Don't go in there." I heard Sydney warn. "There are no cameras hooked up in that room…we have no idea—"

But Jeb was already placing his finger on a small black box next to the door. There was a small chirping noise, and only then did I realize that he had just scanned his fingerprint.

He turned back towards us. "Careful." He whispered. "They must not hear us." And then, slowly, he opened the door just a crack.

I was the first to step forward, the first to look into the room. And what I saw almost made my heart stop. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

Fang stepped behind me and squinted into the room as well.

"No way…"

I almost choked on my own words. "Ella?"


End file.
